Volkswagen Aims to Restart Factories in Germany on April 27

By William Boston

BERLIN--Volkswagen AG is planning to restart its factories in Germany on April 27, about a week later than initially envisaged, as the company prepares to gradually ramp up auto production that has been shut down to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Last month, Volkswagen temporarily closed most of its European production network of factories for its car brands that include the namesake VW brand, Audi, Porsche, Skoda and SEAT, setting a preliminary date to resume production on April 20.

Volkswagen management and the company's labor representatives last week worked out a far-reaching package of measures aimed to safeguard employees and prevent any outbreak of the virus on the factory floor. So far, more than 100 Volkswagen factory employees worldwide have contracted the virus.

During the overall shutdown, Volkswagen's components plants have continued to operate in order to ensure that factories have enough parts to resume assembly once the restrictions were lifted. Nearly 2,000 workers at the components plants returned to work this week, including Audi's engine plant in Gyor, Hungary.

Write to William Boston at William.Boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2020 11:44 ET (15:44 GMT)

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