Dear reader,
On Monday there was a top management conference in Wolfsburg. “The roof is still burning,” VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer (53) is said to have told the assembled group, based on his legendary announcement from July. In addition to all the business difficulties, another source of fire has arisen: the discussion about the home office.
An emotional topic for management, employees and the works council, which Michael Freitag described in great detail at the end of last week. Like his Audi colleague Gernot Döllner (54), Schäfer would like more office presence. He made that clear again on Monday. “We need all hands on deck,” one conference participant quoted him as saying. And that means getting out of the home office.
The debate produces strange results. There are “hotel subscription” offers circulating online for VW employees who want to come to the Mittelland Canal more often but don’t feel like having a second home. 62 euros per night, directly opposite the main factory.
Schäfer himself wants to move forward despite his main residence in Ireland: If the captain isn’t there, he shouted to his managers, the crew wouldn’t come back either.
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