Volkswagen – crash to five hours – Süddeutsche.de

in Order to make the core brand of the group, fit to work, some employees longer. On the operating Assembly, it therefore came to a head.

Angelica Slavik, Wolfsburg/Hamburg

Sometimes, the life of people it brings together, between which it runs. Herbert Diess, 58, and Bernd Osterloh, 60, a constellation. Since This was a year ago, the head of the core VW brand, you could see the again and again: Diess, previously the Board of management at BMW, ignored the works Council and publicly announced his plans. Group works Council chief Osterloh, not without reason, often as a home of VW-Boss referred to, urged, Diess, the specific Wolfsburg-based power relationships to illustrate and condemning him, of course, open to the public.

So it goes. In the meantime, you get it all together, necessary the one or other word, mutual appreciation and respect. But because of This and Osterloh have just to do necessarily with each other, the game starts all over again. And then it comes to situations such as in Wolfsburg on Thursday.

The Morning had come together, the employees to a meeting. You should be informed about the status of talks on the so-called “future Pact”. This is a package of measures, the works Council and the management of the company are currently negotiating. VW should save and at the same time restructuring to prepare the company for the time of the electric drive. The staff wanted to hear, what’s coming – and it came between This and Osterloh appears to be a power struggle on the open stage.

The mood is heated. The employees make it clear what you think of the savings plans

not hold The meeting was open to the public. Nevertheless, the urge to go outside, that Diess has spoken in his speech before the employees of a possible 40-hour working week for parts of the workforce, specifically for the employees of the Technical development. It remained unclear whether he understood this as a requirement or as an Option. So far, a 35-hour week applies to all VW employees. This is regulated in the collective bargaining agreement.

Osterloh, should not have made more than clear that the collective bargaining agreement was up for debate. Deteriorations in income and working hours, he will share never, Osterloh in front of 20 000 employees. The mood of the workforce was heated, it was said: While Osterloh reaped a lot of approval, it will have in Diess’ versions resentment testimonies given.

In the negotiations provides for Diess, established at BMW’s Image as a cost-pusher, savings of several billion Euro seek – in addition to the ongoing austerity program, by 2017, annual cost savings of five billion Euro. The works Council has, however, established claims, to saving, to agree to measures: in addition to the inviolability of the collective bargaining agreement Osterloh wants to guarantee that compulsory redundancies will be omitted. The job losses would take place over an early retirement or semi-retirement. At least on this point, Diess, and Osterloh is likely to have agreed.

However, the works Council wants more: employment figures for each of the locations would have to be guaranteed. It also calls for the Management of investment commitments, such as for a battery factory. It is all about, to equip the company for new technologies. In a letter to the employees it means: The brand Board of management, so Diess, wool to increase the profitability of the VW brand. That’s why he come “again and again, with requests around the corner, we will not support as your employee representatives.” That doesn’t sound like an obvious Unity, but Diess and Osterloh are under time pressure. In mid-November, VW’s Supervisory Board will approve the Five-year plans for the individual brands. This works only if the “future Pact” is until then.