NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The head of Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant is speaking out against a bill pending in the Tennessee General Assembly to strip businesses of the right to ban firearms on company property.

The proposal headed for vote in a House committee on Tuesday morning would allow people to store legally-owned firearms in vehicles parked at work -- regardless of their employers' wishes.

Frank Fischer, the CEO and chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the German automaker has had a strong relationship with Tennessee lawmakers, but that the company takes exception to the guns-in-parking-lots measure.

He says: "That's a sort of thing that makes us a bit nervous."

Fischer and other VW executives hosted a reception in Nashville for lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.