After the flood disaster
Auto supplier ZF wants to move away from the Ahr flood area
The ZF Friedrichshafen AG logo can be seen on an electric motor from the automotive supplier. Photo: Felix Kästle / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In July, the water in the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler plant was around three meters high and machines were destroyed. Now the largest automotive supplier in the republic is looking for a new location – and is receiving criticism.
The automotive supplier ZF wants to move away from the Ahr flood area for fear of future floods – but the approach has met with criticism.
ZF spokesman Florian Tausch announced on Wednesday that a new location within a radius of 50 kilometers is being sought for the around 280 employees in the flood-damaged plant in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate. It is still unclear when there will be a move and whether an expansion of the existing ZF location in Koblenz could also be considered. Other media had previously reported about it.
“In our plant in Ahrweiler, close to the Ahr, the water was two to three meters high in July. A few caravans were washed in and machines destroyed, ”said Tausch. The flood line of a new risk map for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate runs right through the plant. This shows that floods could penetrate here again.
According to the ZF spokesman, the employees in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, some of whom had their own houses affected by the extreme flash flood on July 14th and 15th, were extremely committed to stimulating a “replacement production”. There was no short-time work.
IG Metall criticized: “A replacement location within a radius of 50 kilometers, for example at the company’s own location in Koblenz, is not a solution. Rather, it is a further burden in the chain of strokes of fate for most of the employees at the site. ” A new plant must be built in the immediate vicinity of the current location. Local politicians are offering areas for this – these proposals must be followed up with the highest priority and together with the works council and employees.
ZF is one of the largest automotive suppliers in Germany and, according to its own information, has more than 150,000 employees at around 270 locations in 42 countries, with sales in 2020 of 32.6 billion euros.