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Police officers in front of the CATL factory in Arnstadt (Thuringia)
Photo: Martin Schutt / dpa
A large contingent of police and customs began a check on the factory premises of the Chinese CATL group's battery factory near Arnstadt in Thuringia in the morning.
According to the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior, it was about possible undeclared work and the control of work permits.
As is often the case in such cases, the police were asked by customs for administrative assistance, said a spokesman.
The federal police were also involved.
Several police and customs vehicles were parked in front of the CATL site.
According to an MDR report, around 250 officers are said to be involved in the operation, which has been prepared for weeks.
The area had been cordoned off and a helicopter was circling over it.
In this way, all employees present should be able to be checked during the course of the day.
The factory for lithium-ion battery cells for the automotive industry is the first European plant of the CATL group, which intends to invest a total of 1.8 billion euros in the site.
Production only started a few weeks ago, the plant is currently being ramped up and should achieve large quantities over the course of the year.
According to CATL Europe boss Matthias Zentgraf, around 900 people are currently employed.
Among them are around 400 experts from China who are used to start up the systems in the factory and who train German employees.
The MDR reports that the authorities investigated the suspicion that workers from China could be illegally staying in Germany.
There are also indications of undeclared work by construction workers from Eastern Europe.
According to the report, the authorities assume a three-digit number of crimes in an internal forecast.
A trigger for the current control was an operation in October last year, during which some Chinese workers fled the site in the direction of the adjacent fields.
The incidents during the mission in October were the reason for CATL to improve the control system for work visas in the Arnstadt plant, said Europe boss Zentgraf.
He confirmed MDR information about Chinese workers fleeing the factory premises.
Some workers may have had work visa issues.
The manager was surprised at the heavy use of customs and police in the current control.
According to Zentgraf, there are a number of subcontractors on the factory premises who work for the property developer, but also for CATL itself.
"After the incident, we drew up a catalog of measures to ensure that there is no one on the construction site who does not have a valid work visa," said the European boss.
The situation is problematic because of the corona situation in China.
In some cases, workers would not have been able to get return flights after their work visa expired.
fdi/dpa
