Friday 5th November 2021
In the power struggle at VW
The Porsche and Piech families stick with Diess
In the power struggle between the VW workforce and CEO Diess, the fronts harden. After the operation, the supervisory board intervenes. But Diess has backing – from the Porsche and Piech families, the majority shareholders in VW.
In the power struggle at Volkswagen, the Porsche and Piech families hold on to CEO Herbert Diess. “The Porsche and Piech families are still behind Mr Diess. Nothing has changed in their position,” said the spokesman for the Porsche SE holding company when asked by the Reuters news agency. The families hold the majority of Europe’s largest car company through the holding company.
This is massively criticized for statements about possible staff cuts. Reuters had learned from corporate circles on Wednesday that the mediation committee of the supervisory board should deal with the future of the CEO. The works council criticizes that Diess does not involve the workforce enough in its conversion plans. You accuse him of not sticking to the promises made when the contract was extended in July.
IG Metall, which is strongly represented at Volkswagen, also expresses doubts about Diess. “A trainer who has no access to the team loses the game on the pitch,” said IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann at the company meeting yesterday, Thursday. Most recently, Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil made it clear that he was no longer fully committed to Diess. In the 20-member Volkswagen Supervisory Board, the support for the CEO is dwindling.