Audi plans to second 400 workers to defence firms
Friday 30th October 2026 on 06:45 in
Bavaria
Audi expects to temporarily assign about 400 employees to Bavarian defence companies from 2027, BR reported, after more than 2,000 workers registered for a two-day jobs fair in Ingolstadt.
The placements are expected to last two or three years at most. Employees will retain their Audi pay and have a guarantee that they can return, under a collective agreement negotiated for the arrangement.
Companies at the fair included Diehl Defence, which has a plant near Nuremberg; KNDS, a Munich-based manufacturer of tanks and tracked vehicles; and MBDA, based in Schrobenhausen. Audi says the firms are within an hour’s drive of Ingolstadt so employees can stay in the region.
About 80 percent of the employees interested in the first day of the fair worked in technical roles, including mechanical engineering, testing and project management, Audi recruiting head Andreas Zelzer said. The carmaker plans to keep employees in software development and electronics, and is still recruiting in those fields.
The exchange is being supported by the Bavarian Metal and Electrical Industry Association and the Federal Employment Agency. Markus Schmitz, head of Bavaria’s employment agencies, called the initiative a success at its launch and said it could offer a model for other regions.
Enzo Weber of the Institute for Employment Research said transfers from other industries into defence had increased, with significant overlap in skills. He said the arrangement could give automotive workers a chance to test whether their qualifications fit the defence sector, while also helping carmakers reduce staffing.
The defence industry is too small to make up for the automotive sector’s job and revenue losses, the report said. Around 100,000 people in defence generate annual revenue of more than 30 billion euros. The automotive industry employed 691,500 people, a new low, and recorded revenue of more than 530 billion euros in 2025. Whether Audi employees return or stay with defence companies will remain their choice.