FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Audi cancelled some production shifts on Monday at its main Ingolstadt plant as flooding prevented some staff from coming into work, the first signs of an economic impact of flooding in southern Germany.
The early and the late shifts assembling the A3 and Q2 vehicle models in Ingolstadt were cancelled because workers’ commutes were disrupted, the Volkswagen-owned luxury carmaker said in an alert to staff on Sunday, which was made available to Reuters on Monday.
“This is in response to the intensifying flooding situation in the region,” the statement said, adding that the factory was currently not directly affected.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to travel to the region on Monday, after a firefighter died while trying to rescue trapped residents and several thousand people were forced to leave their homes due to heavy rains over the weekend.
Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck pledged support for the affected regions during a visit on Sunday, noting that climate change was causing severe weather events.
Rail company Deutsche Bahn late on Sunday advised against travelling in southern Germany, saying there were no services to Munich from the north and the west and regional train lines in Bavaria were disrupted.
Navigation authorities earlier on Monday warned that parts of the river Rhine in southern Germany, an important route for commodities and fuels, were closed to cargo shipping after heavy rains raised water levels.
The high water levels leave vessels insufficient overhead space to sail under bridges, and prevents vessels sailing to Switzerland.
Among other companies contacted by Reuters, carmaker Mercedes-Benz and automotive parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen, both headquartered in south-western Germany, said they were not impacted.
(Reporting by Christina Amann, Friederike Heine and Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Ludwig Burger; editing by Matthias Williams and Rashmi Aich)
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