The same drama repeats itself over and over again in the Volkswagen Group every year.
It is about the question of whether VW boss Herbert Diess will remain in office despite the resistance of IG Metall to his plans to rebuild the largest European automobile company.
The dispute over the restructuring of the Wolfsburg-based car company promoted by Diess is now coming to a head again before the planning round, which has been postponed to December.
Carsten Germis
Business correspondent in Hamburg.
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In the planning round, decisions are made about investments and plant occupancy in the transformation. As heard from company circles on Wednesday, Diess is once again targeting the unions because of the radical changes he has called for. The source of the speculation about his replacement is unclear, but some see it in the top of IG Metall, whose chairman Jörg Hofmann sits on the VW supervisory board.
Accordingly, the mediation committee of the supervisory board should deal with the professional future of the CEO. "This is the subject of the mediation committee," said a person involved in the deliberations on Wednesday. Works council groups in Wolfsburg promptly rowed back when asked. It is not about pushing Diess out of office, it said. But with his announcement that the transformation to electromobility could cost up to 30,000 jobs, the question arose of how far the VW boss would take care of jobs in the company.
A spokesman for the supervisory board said that an agreement was being sought: "Constructive and confidential talks are currently being held.
Any results will be communicated in due course. ”Porsche SE, over which the Porsche and Piech families hold the majority in VW, did not want to comment on the matter.
In the face of the ongoing conflicts, however, concerns are growing among the owner family, it was heard.