The Volkswagen-Group comes in the opinion of the former Boss and VW supervisory board member Wendelin Wiedeking (72) cannot avoid tough cuts. “VW would do well to invest in Germany “To subject him to a horse cure,” Wiedeking told the newspaper “Bild” according to the preliminary report.
Compared to many other locations, including those owned by VW, the efficiency in the domestic plants has always been worse. “There have always been too many people on board.” VW CEO Oliver Blume (56) has no choice but to take a tough course of restructuring. “Mr Blume now has to pay for everything that his predecessors since Martin Winterkorn (77) have not done. The causes of problems in the VW Group have been known for years,” said Wiedeking, who was at the helm of Porsche from 1991 to 2009 and fundamentally restructured the group. VW has “a good CEO who will solve the issue.” For the first time, there is a manager at the helm of VW “who openly addresses what needs to be done.”
Wiedeking called for new structures and more efficiency. “All locations have to face international competition,” he told the newspaper. Also the Wolfsburg location. “The change is necessary. Now you have to see that you can do it in a manageable amount of time.”
Despite the challenges, Wiedeking was optimistic. “VW has history. VW is also a company that can be fit for the future.” He called for a common approach between the workforce, employee representatives and management in implementing the necessary changes.
Volkswagen had last week tightened austerity measures announced. The eleven production sites in Germany with around 120,000 employees are particularly affected by this. Accordingly, the job security that has been in place for three decades will be terminated, and vehicle and component plants in Germany will also be closed – a first in the company’s history.
The reason for this is the company’s economic situation. At the VW brand, the situation is “so serious that you can’t just let everything continue as before,” CEO Blume told “Bild am Sonntag”. “Fewer vehicles are being bought in Europe. At the same time, new competitors from Asia are entering the market with force. The cake has become smaller and we have more guests at the table,” said the CEO.