Monday 14 December 2020
"Unrestricted support"
Herbert Diess remains head of Volkswagen
In a special meeting, the VW supervisory board CEO Herbert Diess expressed his confidence. On one point, however, works council boss Osterloh prevails: Diess drops his demand for an early contract extension.
The leadership crisis at Volkswagen has been averted for the time being. The supervisory board decided to redesign and fill key positions on the executive board with which CEO Herbert Diess wants to accelerate the transformation into a technology provider based on the model of the US electric car manufacturer Tesla. Specific savings targets were also agreed. His request for an early contract extension was dropped by Diess, it was said from the environment of the supervisory board. In the opinion of group observers, works council chief Bernd Osterloh prevailed, with whom Diess had been fighting for months in an exhausting power struggle over the speed of the group restructuring.
The control committee then demonstrated unity. Diess has "unlimited support" in aligning the group with electromobility and digitization. "Without his commitment, the company's transformation would not have been as consistent and successful." The Supervisory Board expressly praised "the determination and persistence" with which Diess is promoting technological change, the contribution to achieving the climate goals, but also the company's economic results. "In the coming years, the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG will implement the strategy with Herbert Diess at the helm."
Implementation of the "Strategy 2025+"
The owner families Porsche and Piech declared: "It is of crucial importance for us that Herbert Diess and his new management team will continue to shape this important phase of the Volkswagen Group." With the implementation of the "Strategy 2025+" he has full support, "as well as with the implementation of measures that increase profitability". As part of the agreement, the supervisory board announced that the management board and works council should agree on a plan at the end of the first quarter to reduce fixed costs by five percent by 2023. Material costs are to be reduced by seven percent in the next two years.
Osterloh said that there was "absolute agreement" between the supervisory board, executive board and employee representatives on the alignment of the group with the strategic goals of the transformation. In the implementation, all those involved continued to acknowledge the equality of economic efficiency and job security as well as the importance of training.
In addition, the supervisory board announced that the main plant in Wolfsburg is to become a model factory for the highly automated production of VW brand electric vehicles in the medium term. To this end – similar to Audi's "Artemis" project – a project is being set up that is to bundle all activities from the development of the vehicle to production.
No to buying Lamborghini and Ducati
The supervisory board rejected the idea of selling Lamborghini and Ducati. Both brands are to remain part of the group. The British luxury car manufacturer Bentley is to take over responsibility from Audi on March 1, in order to leverage synergies as part of the electrification strategy.
The filling of key positions on the Group's executive board had already been agreed in advance. According to this, Arno Antlitz is to become the Group's chief financial officer when Frank Witter resigns in June next year. Antlitz, who is currently CFO at the VW subsidiary Audi, should concentrate primarily on further increases in efficiency, it said. The Supervisory Board appointed Murat Aksel as of January 1st for the purchasing department, which has been orphaned since Stefan Sommer's withdrawal. At the same time, he will remain head of purchasing for the VW brand.
The components department, which during the summer was bundled with the purchasing department in a board area, is headed by Thomas Schmall as an independent “technology” department. He was already in charge of the Group's own "Components" supplier division.
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