Dear Audi employees,

On this page, you can find relevant information relating to the labor situation at Audi – for instance, in the event of reduced working hours. The information you find here – including adjustments to production procedures – applies exclusively to the Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt locations.

Infection Protection Act: Entry to workplaces only allowed with valid 3G proof

The legislature has adopted the 3G rule for workplaces nationwide. On Wednesday, November 24, this rule will go into effect for all employees who can’t rule out contact with other people during work on site. It doesn’t matter whether they’re customers, employees or other people. Even if you predominantly work from home, you have to bring proof when you work on site or attend an on-site appointment.

Please note: As an employee, you’re responsible and legally required to be able to prove your 3G status – if necessary, in combination with your work or personal ID – before you enter the workplace.

• Vaccinated: You have to prove that you’re fully vaccinated with a vaccination card, CovPass or Corona-Warn-App.
• Recovered: You have to prove that you’re officially considered to have recovered with a valid attestation. This attestation cannot be older than six months.
• Tested: Every day, you have to provide official written proof of a negative antigen quick test that’s no older than 24 hours or a PCR test that’s no older than 48 hours.

Approved test results only include test certificates (printed or electronic on a smartphone) issued by an official testing site. The Audi Healthcare department’s swab-test sites do not offer tests for this purpose. The results of a coronavirus self-test that you carry out at home are not approved as proof in accordance with the Infection Protection Act.

Overview of public test sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm

You can find an overview of all public test sites in the regions of Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm in the right column of the Healthcare department’s coronavirus information pages on Audi mynet.

Please be mindful of the latest changes and the test sites’ opening times when planning your commute to work so that you can show up to work on time. For instance, if you work the early shift and need a negative test to prove your 3G status for the next workday, you should get tested at a public testing center after your early shift the day before so that you can provide this test proof at the checkpoints at the factory gates for the upcoming early shift. Please keep in mind that time taken for testing does not count toward work time.

If you don’t bring 3G proof, the Infection Protection Act stipulates that you may not enter your place of work. If this is the case and you can’t carry out your work from home, you are not entitled to (continued) remuneration.

Entering the plant premises and external buildings: Here’s how

The Infection Protection Act will go into effect on November 24, 2021. From that point on, you will only be allowed to enter the workplace when you show in advance that you have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, are considered to have recovered from it or can show up-to-date negative test results.

Audi will likely be able to enable electronic access to workplaces on the plant premises by showing 3G proof with work IDs starting on Thursday, November 25. This will include Ingolstadt, Münchsmünster, Neckarsulm and the Böllinger Höfe. All managers either recorded their team members’ 3G statuses to that end on Monday, or they still have to record it for some employees. Data requests and processing have been organized in compliance with data protection laws, as allowed by the legislature. If you have been vaccinated or are considered to have recovered, your status will be recorded on your work ID until March 19, 2022, at the latest (until the legal regulation expires). For those who have recovered, this will apply until their recovered status expires, should it expire before March 19.

If you have to submit daily test results, as soon as the entry regulation has been implemented for work IDs, you can only enter the plant through one of the gates staffed by factory security personnel. In Ingolstadt, these include gates 2, 3, 7, 9, 10 and 11. Except for gate 3, these gates are all staffed during shift changes. Gate 3 opens at 5:00 a.m. In Neckarsulm, you can enter the plant through gates 2, 3, 4 and 6 or through turnstile B at the Böllinger Höfe. You can exit the plants at any time through the turnstiles.

Transition period with manual verification of 3G status at plant entrances

Beginning with the early shift on Wednesday, November 24, until entry is allowed by showing 3G proof with work IDs (likely Thursday, November 25), the factory security team at the gates and turnstiles will manually verify your 3G status before you enter the plant premises. So starting on November 24, you’ll always need to carry your 3G proof and – if you aren’t vaccinated or haven’t recovered – present test results from an official test site that are no older than 24 hours. If it’s a PCR test, the results can’t be older than 48 hours.

During this short transition period of one to two days – until a solution to enter by showing 3G proof with work IDs is implemented – you should expect entering the plant to take significantly longer, especially during shift changes.

Please plan for sufficient waiting times at the factory gates and turnstiles during this short transition period so that you can show up to work on time.

For all buildings and properties that are located outside the plant premises, including Audi in Neuburg, entry by showing 3G proof with a work ID will not be possible. Here, even after implementation at the plants, your manager or someone tasked by the company will verify your 3G status before you start work. This may include whoever’s running a seminar or training.

Please keep in mind that even if your work ID is activated for use at the turnstiles, you still need to carry your proof of vaccination or recovery in order to prove your entry authorization to the authorities in case of possible checks.

3G in local public transportation and shift and shuttle buses at Audi

The legislature has also enacted the 3G rule for local public transportation and company-organized transports to workplaces. This means that you’ll need to carry valid 3G proof – if necessary, in combination with your work or personal ID – on the way to work as well. If you take a public INVG bus to work in Ingolstadt, you’ll have to exit in front of the factory gate and go through a turnstile or show your test results at the factory gate, as 3G checks can only be carried out randomly in public transportation. For shuttle buses, you’ll have to prove your 3G status to the driver before entering.

Detailed information on the new access regulation and further information on the Infection Protection Act can be found on Audi mynet under "Coronavirus Information" and at weare.audi.

Ingolstadt/Neckarsulm, November 25, 2021 – The component supply situation at the Audi locations will remain strained until the end of the year. It currently can’t be foreseen whether work will be canceled in production and its tangential departments. Audi is consequentially filing for reduced working hours for these departments in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm for December. More info to that end can be found in the plant announcements Nr. 79/2021 IN and Nr. 67/2021 NSU.

If employees are affected by unavoidable work cancellations in December, reduced working hours can’t be ruled out for the month. Employees can get more detailed information to that end directly from their managers.

Operating procedures in Ingolstadt starting on November 29

Regular production will be carried out on all three assembly lines during all shifts in the week starting on Monday, November 29.

Please keep the following in mind for the winter break:

From December 24, 2021, through January 7, 2022, production will cease on all three assembly lines due to the holidays. Production will also cease on all three assembly lines during the early shift on Monday, January 10. The restart is scheduled for January 10 – for the late shift on assembly line 1, for the permanent night shift on assembly line 2 and for the late shift and permanent night shift on assembly line 3. Regular production will be carried out on all three assembly lines starting on January 11.

The current operating procedures for the months of December and January at the Ingolstadt location can be found in plant announcement Nr. 78/2021 IN on Audi mynet and at weare.audi.

Operating procedures in Neckarsulm starting on November 29

The current operating procedures at the Neckarsulm location for the month of December can be found in plant announcement Nr. 66/2021 NSU on Audi mynet and at weare.audi. This contains the operating procedures for the week starting on November 29.

Please keep the following in mind for the winter break:

From December 24, 2021, through January 7, 2022, the company will shut down for the holidays. In the week starting on January 10 (calendar week 2) and the week starting on January 17 (calendar week 3), production will cease on the B and C series and their tangential departments due to renovations. The only exceptions are ramp-up activities. It’s still being determined to what extent alternative pursuits and/or qualification measures could be held during these two weeks. This will be decided in calendar week 49 at the latest. If neither qualification measures nor alternative pursuits are possible, the company will provide time credit amounting to 60 percent of individual regular daily work time. The details of this regulation are currently being worked out between the company management and the works council. Ramp-up scenarios for the individual facilities are being determined on site in coordination with the works council.

Always stay up to date

The detailed production procedures across all product lines can be found in the latest plant announcements for Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm on Audi mynet or notices on the blackboards.

Those not located at the plant can also learn about operating procedures online at weare.audi or via telephone through the info hotlines (0800) 2552633 for the Ingolstadt location and (0800) 4442100 for Neckarsulm.

The “Reduced working hours” page in the HR Knowledge World offers extensive information and answers to frequently asked questions.

You can find all the company’s currently applicable regulations and protection measures that are helping get all Audi employees safely through the coronavirus pandemic on Audi mynet and at weare.audi under “Coronavirus information”.