German carmaker Volkswagen is to shut down a key factory in Portugal for several weeks due to a shortage of parts, following heavy flooding in Slovenia.
Recent rains in the eastern European country have severely affected a supplier of engine parts, disrupting production, WV said in a memo to about 5,000 of its employees in Portugal.
The interruption is planned for the first half of September and will last several weeks. VW says it is working with other suppliers “to find alternatives to return to normal production as soon as possible” at the affected plant. The carmaker also says it is supporting the supplier in Slovenia so that it can resume production.
The Portuguese plant is one of the largest foreign industrial investments in Portugal, according to the German company. It accounts for about 4% of Portuguese goods exports. VW has been producing the T-Roc car model there since 2017.
