Volkswagen in trouble due to flood damage in Slovenia

(Patria) - German Volkswagen announced that it will reduce production in mid-September due to damage caused by catastrophic floods at the plant of a Slovenian supplier, exacerbating problems with parts procurement.

- The company intends to draw up a plan by the end of September - said today purchasing director Dirk Große-Loheide on the eve of the IAA Mobility trade fair in Munich, adding that the problem will be resolved by the end of the year.

Supply bottlenecks were caused by floods in Slovenia, which caused damage at the plant of VW's engine parts supplier.

These are sprockets for internal combustion engines, Große-Loheide specified. The supplier cannot currently produce, so replacement suppliers are stepping in.

VW still wants to procure parts from the Slovenian company.

- It is an excellent supplier, of course we want to keep it - said Große-Loheide.

The German company is trying to help with cleaning and restarting production. They sent about a hundred employees from the engine plant in Salzgitter and 30 from the commercial vehicles division in Hanover to Slovenia.

VW had announced production cuts even before the floods in Slovenia, due to problems with parts procurement.

Starting next week, they plan to eliminate certain shifts at the main plant in Wolfsburg, and in Hanover, production of fossil fuel vehicles will be shut down for several weeks.

The factory in Palmela near Lisbon will be closed for two months, starting September 11, the company announced, reports Hina.