Osterloh: More power, but not a "lawnmower method"

display

Wolfsburg (dpa) - VW works council chief Bernd Osterloh only wants to support stricter cost targets under the pressure of the corona crisis, industry upheaval and increasing competition from Tesla if the board of directors also tackles further internal streamlining of the group.

"With such a wild growth, our size and scalability suddenly don't help us much," he told the German Press Agency, referring to the large number of battery cell variants used for electric cars.

Volkswagen currently has around two dozen more versions than its US competitor.

"For the customer, it's all about the result, namely maximum range with optimal consumption and good loading capacity," said Osterloh.

The “layout of the individual cells hidden in the vehicle” must be standardized more “in order to be able to fully exploit our clout as a group,” said the top employee representative, who is also on the VW supervisory board.

"Special routes and extra sausages of the brands must be a thing of the past."

The Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer has been looking for further savings potential for a long time - but the works council is also asking top management to focus on reducing the variety of equipment and more coordinated processes instead of additional personnel burdens.

"More efficiency is always good," said Osterloh about the productivity goals recently reaffirmed by CEO Herbert Diess.

"The only question is: How do I get there?"

Before Christmas, the supervisory board had given Diess backing in principle for the plan to reduce fixed costs by a further five percent within the next three years - the exact plan is to be worked out in more detail in the first quarter that has just started.

The management's commitment to implement potential new savings only within the framework of existing programs was seen as a stage victory for the works council.

display

From Osterloh's point of view, VW can still mobilize reserves from closer agreements between development, procurement and production: “It is of little use if you develop a great car that production can then only build with difficulty.

The model has to be planned in such a way that the assembly sequence works fully afterwards. "

In the coming years, VW will pump billions into e-mobility and networking.

He only rejects more speed or “staff cuts using the lawnmower method”: “That's where you start when you don't know what to do and want a flash in the pan for the world of the stock market.”

In 2020, due to the high pressure and technical problems in golf production, there were again disputes between the works council and the executive board.

Diess recently stated that US corporations such as Tesla and Apple have much better financing opportunities on the capital market, and that is why VW should pay more attention to internal costs and efficiency.

The company must «improve significantly in order to be competitive in the future and to get a better ranking».

In addition to business success, goals relating to the environment, social issues and good leadership will soon be included in the calculation of the VW executive board salaries - something that had already been introduced but has since been postponed.

The next general meeting should now decide on this.

“That surprises and annoys me a bit,” said Osterloh.

"If we had simply refined what we had and improved something, we would have had everything we need."

display

In the meantime, even financial market giants like Larry Fink - head of the world's largest asset manager Blackrock - have recognized that such topics are also important to measure management success: “How corporations look after the environment, their workforce and the regions at their locations, that's all a tough competitive factor and of central importance for customers' purchasing decisions. "

The persistently difficult pandemic situation, which is currently leading to bottlenecks in important supplier parts such as semiconductors, is also making life difficult for Volkswagen, Osterloh admitted.

"We don't know exactly how Corona will develop."

It is possible that other key suppliers would be affected by staff and work losses.

According to reports, VW is already calculating internally with a noticeable reduction in production due to missing components.

In the case of electric models, the suppliers are in greater demand overall, warned Osterloh.

“If we want to build electric cars, we need everything that goes with it.

If an important part like the battery is missing in sufficient quantities, it won't work. "

He could not understand complaints that auto companies are increasingly producing components themselves.

"Of course the suppliers are still an important economic factor in the German auto industry - but they have to move themselves."

The battery cell business is profitable, but you need advance payments in good time.

"I believe that German suppliers are also giving away real opportunities."

The head of the works council has high expectations of the new software department on the group board. "Nothing happened for a long time," he said. “In 2017 I said again that we needed someone at the highest level for this. Someone who thinks about it creatively: What does IT have to look like in such a large company in five years? We need more coordination. " Top responsibility for the topic is important. "Last but not least, it is also about our attractiveness as an employer." Osterloh spoke out in favor of occupying the management of the area with a manager.