Inclusion at Audi: “I have a voice”

For many years, Audi has been committed to inclusion at its sites, and dedicated to looking after the health of its employees. Whether they are blind or visually impaired, wheelchair users, deaf, or autistic. AUDI AG currently employs almost 3,400 people, including trainees, with a wide range of disabilities at its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites. That means that six percent of the company's workforce consists of people with health conditions or impairments, which is above the legally required proportion. Eight to ten trainee positions are given to young people with severe health impairments annually. In the past ten years, around 80 impaired people have been trained in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm and then hired full-time.

There are many reasons for Audi’s commitment. For one thing, diversity is a factor in the company’s success and disability is part of that diversity. Additionally, there are legal requirements: since 2001, five percent of staff at companies with more than 20 employees have had to be from different backgrounds.

“We benefit from each individual, unique perspective,” explains Szonja Pajor, HR Business Partner and Inclusion Officer at Audi Neckarsulm. “But that means that there has to be an atmosphere in which everyone, regardless of their requirements, can apply their knowledge and talents in the way that is most helpful,” says Pajor.

To make that possible, one focal point for integrating and including everyone is ergonomics and accessibility. Ultimately, all Audi employees benefit from doors that open automatically. “But the most important thing is for people to look out for each other,” explains Rupert Klinger, Audi’s General Representative for the Severely Disabled from 2014 to 2022. He says that inclusion means more than just an ergonomic workspace or reading aids. The focus is not on what individual employees cannot do, but rather on their strengths and potential.

When a young person with a disability applies for a training position at Audi, they not only have a personal meeting with the trainers, but during an internship they also get an opportunity to figure out, together with other trainees, if the job, workplace, and environment are right for them.

“People like Tim are an asset to their classmates,” says Christoph Hermreck, Head of Audi Vocational Training and Dual Study Programs Ingolstadt. “They don’t just learn to communicate more precisely; they also establish a mindful way of interacting with one another and an appreciation for their own privileged situation.” That is a real advantage for team cohesion and an important step toward integrating disabled people.

Vanessa also did her internship at Audi. She is a deaf employee who has been working on Audi A6 assembly in Neckarsulm since 2010. Her colleague Mathias is also deaf and now works in facility management after 22 years in production. “My department is extremely helpful and very receptive, including with new technical options,” the 46-year-old explains. Mathias and Vanessa would like to see even more technical support for themselves and their 53 deaf colleagues in Ingolstadt und Neckarsulm, including IT programs that convert speech into text.

That’s because everyday communication with colleagues can be difficult, they say. They often do not have much spare time to communicate using a text program on a smartphone or to write things down, Vanessa explains. “I can’t just communicate with people in passing, the way people who hear can,” the 31-year-old says.

In order to make it easier for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to participate, sign language interpreters have been present, whenever possible, for the past three years at works assemblies, medical consultations, conversations with superiors, and weekly group discussions at Audi Neckarsulm. It does not always work passively, of course. It requires a lot of commitment and organization on the part of everyone involved from Production, Human Resources, and the Works Council.

“We want deaf people to be included as equals,” says Kai Loeprecht. He is a part of the group of people with health conditions or impairments in Neckarsulm. They make self-determination the top priority. Anyone who does not want to communicate through an interpreter does not have to. “We’re also looking into what other technical options there are to improve communication,” Szonja Pajor adds. Not every individual desire can be fulfilled. However, the goal is to have dignified interpersonal communication – across all channels.

“I’m grateful that Audi hires people with disabilities and enables them to have normal jobs,” says Vanessa. “But being deaf isn’t a disability to me. I know I have a voice here at Audi. I won’t be overlooked, and nothing is just decided for me.”

Tim would not want to change anything about himself or his situation either. “Asperger’s makes me the person I am, and I like myself as I am.” That goes for his job as well.