By Ilona Wissenbach
BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen has alerted staff to the risk of short-term manufacturing disruptions because of a dispute over chipmaker Nexperia, it said on Wednesday.
A company spokesperson told Reuters that VW had issued an internal letter to staff saying production had not yet been impacted by chip shortages but “in view of the dynamic situation, however, we cannot rule out an impact on production in the short term”. German daily Bild earlier on Wednesday reported on the internal memo.
VW said on Tuesday it was preparing to pause production of two key models as planned but said those halts were not connected with the stand-off over Nexperia.
Bild also cited unspecified sources as saying Volkswagen has started discussions with labour authorities about the option of launching a state-backed reduced working hours scheme potentially affecting tens of thousands of employees.
VW declined to comment on that.
German carmakers’ association VDA warned on Tuesday that the China-Netherlands dispute over Nexperia could significantly disrupt automotive production in the near future. Despite talks between the Dutch and Chinese economy ministers on Tuesday, no solution to the Nexperia impasse was reached.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Ludwig Burger, editing by Miranda Murray, Kirsti Knolle)
