NASHVILLE -- Just days after a unionization effort went down in flames at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, company officials on Tuesday reached out to the Haslam administration to restart discussions on state economic incentives tied to possible plant expansion.
"We have been in discussions with the company for a long time about locating a second line in Chattanooga, and the discussions have just picked up this morning," state Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty told reporters. "The company reached out to us this morning to get restarted on them.
"So we plan to get working right away," Hagerty said.
The German manufacturer's move comes just four days after the United Auto Workers' effort to unionize the plant failed on Friday.
Volkswagen already produces the Passat in Chattanooga but there have been discussions for months on adding a second line of production for SUVs. Chattanooga is vying with Mexico on the SUV line.