The citizens of Straßkirchen have cleared the way for a large battery factory for the car manufacturer BMW in Lower Bavaria. At a referendum on Sunday, a clear majority voted to support the establishment of the factory with several thousand jobs. The community reported this. The plant is expected to build 600,000 high-voltage storage units for electric cars every year.
Specifically, according to preliminary results, 75.3 percent of citizens voted for the council’s request in favor of the BMW location. The citizens’ initiative, which was directed against the factory, only received 29.6 percent yes votes. The two questions were asked separately.
The “Livable Gäuboden Citizens’ Initiative”, which is against the work, pushed through the referendum. The local councils of Straßkirchen and Irlbach, in whose district the plant is to be built, unanimously approved the planned settlement. Another citizens’ initiative also drummed up support for the plant, and of course BMW also promoted the location.
Opponents of the plant criticized, among other things, the fact that around 100 hectares of prime arable land would be destroyed for construction. The factory also brings with it a lot of additional traffic. And the resulting jobs didn’t convince opponents either: “Every ‘high-quality’ job at BMW means a lack of workers at other companies,” it says on their homepage. They received support from, among others, the Federal Nature Conservation Association, which does not consider the possibilities for a land-saving option to have been exhausted yet.
Straßkirchen’s first mayor, Christian Hirtreiter, had clearly positioned himself in favor of the work. BMW means work and prosperity not only for the communities, but for the entire region. Local companies also benefited, he said recently. In addition, hundreds of jobs have recently been lost at other companies in the region. BMW wants to supply its Dingolfing, Regensburg and Munich plants with the batteries that will be built in Straßkirchen – directly and with electric trucks via the nearby A3 and A92 motorways.
BMW board member Ilka Horstmeier recently emphasized the signaling effect of the referendum beyond the factory: “Many companies will take a close look at whether people still want to invest in sustainable technologies and future-proof jobs in Bavaria,” she said. If the citizens said no, BMW had announced that it would move away – probably to a location outside of Bavaria.