The influential Volkswagen works council has the Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess thrown down the gauntlet right in diesel scandal. After serious allegations by the councils Diess has now asked the confidence vote, the article informs “mirror”. The council denied this but later.
According to “mirror” wanted Diess, the Volkswagen brand is since last July, knowing the powerful works council boss Bernd Osterloh, whether he should leave the Group , The response of the council chairman was: “No.”
A spokesman for the council disagreed with this view: “. This is a hoax The alleged conversation last Thursday, when Mr Diess Mr. Osterloh said to have asked whether he should go, there has not been.”
employee representatives complain “serious trust problem”
The conflict smolders however continue. On Monday, the Bureau of the VW supervisory board together kick. Topic will be the conflict between management and the works council at the Volkswagen brand among others.
In a letter to the workforce Gesamtbetriebsrat boss Bernd Osterloh and six Chairwoman different VW sites had spoken of a “serious problem of trust” between the brand managers and employee representatives.
Background Default reset staffing cuts feared
They fear job cuts under Diess who wants to bring the main VW brand with austerity measures to scratch: “we have the impression that the diesel scandal from behind should be used to make personnel cuts, which until a few months, no subject was, “it says in the letter, which was received by different media on Thursday.
in the showdown with the works themselves could Diess on the support of the owner families Porsche and leave Piëch, an insider said.
Encrusted structures
For the car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer the escalation in the VW management is no surprise. In an n-tv interview he said: “VW is struggling for years with encrusted structures.” In particular, the core brand of VW suffering for years from poor profitability.
After the manipulation of emission values at most eleven million vehicles, the Group faces significant costs – for product recalls, consultants’ fees and possible penalties. The austerity is therefore intensified. Around 3,000 jobs are to be broken down according to insiders in the management without redundancies.
immature savings plans
The councils want to prevent worse. They call for a site agreement for all German plants with firm commitments for products, quantities and investments. In workshops, they are already working on its negotiating position. “Another way of commonality we do not see at this time because lack of full reliability of the brand manager.” Diess they criticize immature savings plans.
VW personnel chief Karlheinz Blessing tried on Thursday to calm things down. It welcomed the offer of negotiations for a long-term future pact. “The security of the sites is in the interests of the Board,” said Blessing and promised rapid and constructive discussions.
“High labor costs a brain ghost”
The conflict between council and Diess ferments already longer. The 57-year-old manager had been recruited at the instigation of former supervisory board chief Ferdinand Piëch from BMW to bring the already faltering main brand of the group on the ball. The Austrian has a reputation as a tough cost oppressor. In July, he moved to VW.
That would Diess with his plans for savings and efficiencies in the works, which traditionally plays a strong role in the VW Group, irritate, it was clear from the outset. At first he tried to defuse the conflict and praised in an interview with the newspaper staff Osterlohs proposal to reduce the cost impulsive high number of models.
However, the truce did not last long. Already in November accused Osterloh Diess and CEO Matthias Müller to announce austerity measures unilaterally and without basis. Diess reiterated in March its call for further savings by pointing to better developments in Seat, Skoda, Audi and Porsche. “. The Volkswagen brand has hand still do a lot to be profitable in the coming years”
owner families behind reform course
Now, the conflict comes to a head: After view of the works is deliberately denigrated the Volkswagen brand. “The supposedly high wage costs by the collective agreement at VW are a figment,” Osterloh wrote in the letter. The far-reaching co-determination was not responsible for the diesel scandal.
The owner Porsche and Piëch families, which include 51 percent of the Wolfsburg Group, however, support the reforms at the VW brand. According to Wolfgang Porsche had against the “Handelsblatt” already expressed in early March. Diess must rebuild the core brand and increase the margin. “VW will have to be slimmer in some places.”
Also the Emirate of Qatar, with 17 percent of the voting third largest VW shareholder had, According to insiders, last year’s constant criticism of the works on board faulted. From second largest shareholder, the state of Lower Saxony, opinion was initially to get to the dispute.
No comments:
Post a Comment