Hearings on VW emissions scandal planned in Tennessee, home of automaker's lone US plant

Lawmakers in Tennessee plan hearings over whether the Volkswagen emissions scandal could imperil the nearly $900 million in state and local incentives that have been directed toward the German automaker's lone U.S. plant in Chattanooga.

Republican Sen. Bo Watson of Chattanooga has been a vocal critic of Volkswagen's labor policies. On Tuesday, he cited the state's "significant investment" in the plant in calling for the Senate Finance Committee to investigate potential impact on the state of revelations that VW used secret software to thwart pollution controls.

Volkswagen received a more than $577 million incentive to build the plant in Chattanooga in 2008. Another state and local package worth up to $300 million was offered last year to persuade VW to expand the plant to build a new SUV there.