Volkswagen has said that an audit of its plant in Xinjiang, the region of China at the centre of accusations of human rights abuses, has found no indications of the use of forced labour.
The German company this summer announced it would commission an independent review of the plant, following persistent complaints from investors and human rights groups. The facility carries out quality checks for cars sold in the region and is run by VW’s Beijing-owned joint venture partner SAIC.
“We could not find any indications or evidence of forced labour among the employees,” said Markus L?ning, managing director and founder of the German human rights and corporate responsibility consultancy L?ning, which accompanied an unnamed Shenzhen-based law firm that carried out “the actual audit execution”.