Grünheide, Salzgitter, Erfurt, Kaiserslautern — four gigafactories, one ATEX-zone discipline.

Germany’s gigafactory cluster is built around four operating or under-construction sites: Tesla Berlin Grünheide (operational), VW PowerCo Salzgitter (under construction), CATL Erfurt (operational), and ACC Kaiserslautern (under construction). Every electrode-coating line in this cluster operates inside an ATEX Zone 20 envelope.

01. Pre-pricing — IG Metall ERA and BG-ETEM/BGHM split

The gigafactory workforce splits cleanly across two Berufsgenossenschaften. Electrical commissioning crews — switchgear, MV/HV distribution, controls — sit under BG-ETEM and price against AVE-Elektrohandwerk (€14.93/h) or IG Metall ERA-Bayern where the receiving Niederlassung is in the Bayern Tarifgebiet. Mechanical and metal-fabrication crews — racking, conveyor integration, pressure-part welding on the cooling loops — sit under BGHM with IG Metall ERA carrying the wage floor.

Where any civil scope predominates — foundations, shell-and-core, EXC3/EXC4 steel for the calendar bays — SOKA-BAU 20.2% applies on the construction-trade portion, Mindestlohn-Bau LG3 €23.97/h from 1 April 2026, and BG-Bau covers employer-liability. Tarif-Bezug per Niederlassung is verified at mobilisation, not reconstructed at audit.

02. Meldeportal-Mindestlohn + A1 + Befähigte Person Ex documentation

Every posted worker in the dust-zoned scope arrives with the A1 + German-language contract + Meldeportal-Mindestlohn filing predating site arrival. The ATEX layer adds the Befähigte Person Explosionsschutz documentation: TRBS 2152-2 competency under DIN VDE V 0510-100:2023-04, plus the Gefährdungsbeurteilung explosionsfähiger Atmosphären referenced for every Zone-20-classified workplace.

Per-worker fine ceiling under §23 AEntG reaches €30,000. The ATEX competency proof is independent and attaches to TRBS 2152-2 employer-side documentation.

03. SOKA-BAU + BG-ETEM / BGHM onboarding

The Salzgitter, Grünheide and Kaiserslautern shell-and-core build phases enrol the civil-trade portion through SOKA-BAU: 14.25% Urlaubskasse West reimbursement, 1.9% Berufsbildung, 3.2% Zusatzversorgung — the 20.2% blended West contribution rate. The Berufsbildungszentren der Bauwirtschaft network underwrites the Anerkennung-in-Deutschland pathway for posted civil trades.

For BG-ETEM-classified electrical commissioning, the dual-membership pattern is administratively normal: a TGA-style worker covering both energised cabinet work and controls integration carries the determining classification on the Baustellenausweis. For BGHM mechanical fabrication, the equivalent enrolment runs through BG Holz und Metall on the metalworking-trade portion.

04. SchwarzArbMoDiG-defensible evidence pack

The Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit attended the Grünheide and Salzgitter sites with elevated frequency since the SchwarzArbMoDiG entry into force on 1 January 2026. Biometric on-site identity capture, live payroll-IT access, and automated cross-matching across A1 / DRV / Meldeportal-Mindestlohn are now the standard inspection profile. The dust-zoned scope adds a second documentary layer: the Befähigte Person Ex certificate, the Gefährdungsbeurteilung-Ex sign-off, and the TRBS 2152-2 competency record per individual.

Pre-mobilised pack composition: SEPA-traceable remuneration to a German bank account, ArbZG-compliant timesheets, German-language contract retrievable on demand, accommodation proof, Anerkennung-recognition trail, dual-Berufsgenossenschaft membership confirmations, and the Ex-competence documentation per worker.

05. India and Gulf sourcing corridors — the BGHM-trade pathway

The Indian metallurgical-trade pool delivers IIW-certified welders, BHEL-trained pressure-part fitters and Larsen & Toubro-trained controls integrators. The Gulf corridor reaches ADNOC, SABIC and Hyundai E&C-served NORSOK contractor pools. Both routes are bilateral-social-security anchored (India-Germany SVA 2024).

The 8 to 14-week corridor activation delivers the Befähigte-Person-Ex-eligible candidate against the receiving site’s Gefährdungsbeurteilung. Anerkennung in Deutschland recognition is scoped per worker before mobilisation, so the first Zone-20 access does not discover the documentary gap.