Mahle says around 13,000 of its employees worldwide have taken up its coronavirus vaccination offer, largely completing its inoculation programme.
Those vaccinated include one in every four staff in Germany and half the workforce in China.
The company has offered jabs to its employees in China, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Austria and Slovakia. In some cases, locations were able to extend the offer to family members.
“The progress and success of our company initiatives to vaccinate against COVID-19 give us reason to be hopeful and confident,” said Mahle Corporate EVP Human Resources and management board member, Anke Felder.
“We have made an important contribution towards containing the pandemic.”
Mahle started planning its worldwide vaccination programme at the beginning of 2021. Depending on the country and the size of the location, the vaccinations were either administered by in-house medical staff and company doctors, or with the support of local doctors and vaccination centres.
In China, Mahle provided free shuttle buses taking employees to nearby vaccination centres, while mobile vaccination teams came directly to the supplier’s locations. The measures proved successful: more than half of the around 10,000 employees received their COVID-19 vaccinations through Mahle.
In Germany, company vaccinations started nationwide in June for all those who had not yet been offered an inoculation by other means. At 12 locations, around 3,000 staff came forward, meaning a quarter of employees and some of their family members were vaccinated by Mahle.
At the company’s headquarters in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, the city’s Filderklinik supported the company vaccination initiative in a specially-erected vaccination tent. The company and the clinic have a long-standing relationship through their involvement with the Mahle Foundation.
Mahle locations in India also completed their vaccination initiative, which was run through private hospitals. Overall, two-thirds of employees took advantage of the opportunity.
Mahle saw its fastest vaccination progress in Japan. In the Greater Tokyo area, around 80% of the supplier’s staff and some family members received their first vaccination within one week.
In Mexico, the company car park at the Ramos Arizpe plant was repurposed as a pop-up vaccination centre.
The supplier also built a vaccination station at the St. Michael plant in Austria, where the in-house medical team vaccinated 45% of the factory’s employees.
The Námestovo plant in Slovakia used the slogan: ‘Everyone in a single day.’ This resulted in 20% of plant staff and some family members coming in for vaccination.
“I’m personally delighted our company offer has meant we could contribute towards the increased safety and protection of our employees during the pandemic,” added Felder.
“Vaccination is the only way we will see an end to the pandemic and a return to normal life.”