Question: The paper mill in Plattling should close at the end of the year. Would the site not be suitable for the new location?

Our answer: We are continuing our plans to set up a new location in Strasskirchen and Irlbach. The procedure for closing the paper mill in Plattling is in the hands of owner UPM. We do not currently have any details about its planning and also the location in Plattling, so that a serious evaluation is currently not possible. However, we are generally open to offering trainees at the location an opportunity to take on, for example, in order to be able to offer them prospects.

Question: When can I apply for the new location in Strasskirchen and Irlbach? Where does trainee training take place?

Our answer: We are pleased that we are already receiving continuous applications for our future location — not only from BMW employees, but also from many people interested in hiring outside the BMW Group. And also, of course, from young people who are interested in an apprenticeship with the BMW Group.

Applications for permanent positions at the new location are expected to be possible from the second quarter of 2024. We will then publish the vacancies on our career portal www.bmwgroup.jobs.

We will also offer training places for young career starters. Recruiting for training will start in the course of 2023 during the usual application deadlines. The training will take place at the Dingolfing site and then work at the future location in Strasskirchen and Irlbach. Further information on the BMW Group training program can be found at www.bmwgroup.jobs/ausbildung.

Question: The citizens' initiative claims that it has provided the BMW Group with an alternative space that has not yet appeared on the market and therefore could not have been in the selection. Is that true?

Our answer: We assume that the citizens' initiative relates to a plot of land near the village of Sünching. We are familiar with the area and was offered to us a second time. The area is one of the 20 options that we have already examined in great detail in our selection process and found to be “not suitable” as a result. We also recently reported this back to the owner. The Strasskirchen and Irlbach site is the only possible location in Bavaria for the project.

Question: I have read that you want to build a location for the production of high-voltage batteries in Lower Bavaria. My question: Where do the more than 1,000 employees come from? We already have enough jobs in Lower Bavaria! [...]

Our answer: [...] The planned production site is the company's clear commitment to Bavaria as an innovation and production location. More than 1,000 jobs are to be created at the new location in the future, many of which will be filled by existing employees from other locations, some of which will be filled by new employees.

Around 36,000 people are currently employed in Bavaria alone at the Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg vehicle plants. 7,500 people who live within a radius of 20 km from Irlbach and Strasskirchen work for the BMW Group. The new location secures the future of Bavarian plants by supplying them with the high-voltage batteries required for e-mobility. As a result, important jobs in the region will be retained and new jobs will be added in the pioneering area of e-mobility.

As a result of the BMW Group's decision to locate, important jobs will also be retained and new jobs created outside the company. The company currently has business relationships with around 1,000 suppliers and service providers from Lower Bavaria, including around 120 from the Straubing-Bogen district: from suppliers of series components to craft and construction companies to bus companies and bakeries.

The high level of employment in Lower Bavaria is also linked to the BMW Group. We want to secure these jobs - and make Lower Bavaria as an innovative and production location future-proof. [...]

Question: It is good to see that the BMW Group is (after all) finally coming to the Straubing area. I also find it remarkable that you are continuing to invest in Bavaria, where completely different options would be available to you.

[...] In your statement on your homepage, you refer to aligning the building structure in accordance with KfW Standard 40 and the construction of PV systems. [...] In order to be able to operate as energy independently as possible, you would need to have the know-how to be able to store this energy. You have this know-how! There is already a battery storage power plant in Leipzig, which uses battery packs from electric cars. This variant would also add an innovation to Gäuboden and further increase public acceptance. [...]

Our answer: Thank you for your suggestions on energy efficiency. This is one of the many topics that we at the BMW Group are thinking intensively about — including, of course, for the planned location for the assembly of high-voltage batteries in Lower Bavaria.

The battery storage farm at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig was opened back in 2017. Around 700 high-voltage batteries from BMW electric vehicles are being used here for a second time. The plant can temporarily store electricity from various renewable sources on the factory premises. In this way, the storage farm optimizes local energy management. Through additional integration into the public power grid, the BMW Speicherfarm in Leipzig is helping to relieve it and contribute electrical energy.

Here you can find a video about the battery storage farm at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig.