The head of a major German trade union on Monday blasted the boss of carmaker Audi for his appearance at an election campaign rally alongside US President Donald Trump.
Audi CEO Gernot Doellner appeared Saturday at a Republican campaign event in Georgia -- just days before crucial midterm elections -- during which Trump announced Audi would invest $4.2 billion to build its first US plant in the state.
Christiane Benner, president of Germany's powerful IG Metall union, said Doellner's appearance at the rally was "extremely embarrassing, politically unacceptable and not worthy of the company".
She accused Doellner of "flagrantly violating" Audi's commitment to political neutrality in the run-up to elections.
Daniela Cavallo, works council boss at Audi-parent Volkswagen, also took aim at the Audi CEO in an interview published by the union.
"Management has allowed itself to be turned into a puppet in the propaganda show of a highly dubious political figure who contravenes virtually every one of our corporate values," she charged.
The Georgia project would create around 4,500 jobs, Audi said in a statement Sunday. According to Trump, the plant in Macon will enable the production of 200,000 vehicles per year.
"Political neutrality is an important principle for Audi, one to which we remain committed," a company spokeswoman told AFP when asked about the controversy.
"The decision to attend the event in Georgia was taken after careful consideration and solely in the interests of the company," she added.
Making an appearance onstage as Trump stood behind him, Doellner told the rally that Audi was "making a long-term investment".
"We believe in the North American market," the CEO of the company that makes the Q line of SUVs and crossovers told the cheering audience.
IG Metall's Benner stressed that the investment in Georgia has not yet been signed off by all the relevant bodies within the Volkswagen Group.
The final decision would "rightly and importantly" be taken by Volkswagen's supervisory board, she said.
The row comes at a sensitive time for the 10-brand Volkswagen Group, which last month agreed with unions to axe a further 50,000 jobs by 2030, bringing total planned reductions worldwide to 120,000.
Audi's plant in Neckarsulm, which employs some 15,000 people, is particularly at risk.
The storied company is struggling with a costly shift to electric vehicles at a time of patchy demand while intense Chinese competition eats away at market share.
Audi has also suffered particularly from Trump's imposition last year of tariffs since -- unlike competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz -- it has no American plant, leaving it especially exposed to the levies.
Unions have leverage when it comes to the new Audi plant since Volkswagen rules state that a two-thirds majority of the company's supervisory board is required to open or move production plants.
Workers' representatives have half the seats on supervisory boards at big companies under Germany's system of co-determination.
Unions could seek concessions and guarantees that German plants will keep operating in return for agreeing to the US investment.