As a rule, Arno Antlitz adopts a sober tone. The CFO of the Volkswagen Group is, by virtue of his position, a numbers man who limits himself to facts rather than using rhetoric. But in the current crisis, the 54-year-old top manager is clearly trying to shake up the company. We are facing “significant and painful” decisions, he said on Wednesday in a conference call with financial experts and journalists. It is the “common responsibility” of everyone involved to lead Europe’s largest car manufacturer into a good and safe future. “We owe it to future generations,” he added. From Antlitz’s point of view, the figures for the third quarter presented on Wednesday underline the seriousness of the situation. Problems in the supply chain, costs for corporate restructuring and headwinds in important markets caused the car manufacturer’s earnings to fall by more than 40 percent to 2.9 billion euros compared to the same period last year. The operating return deteriorated from 6.2 to 3.6 percent. Among other things, because things are going badly for VW in the former growth market of China, profit after taxes fell by 64 percent to around 1.6 billion euros. Flat-rate reduction in wages by ten percent. In parallel to the presentation, representatives of the group and the company gathered in the morning IG Metall on the second round of negotiations for a new company tariff. As has already become known, management is demanding a flat-rate reduction in wages of ten percent. Bonus payments for highly paid specialists are to be reorganized and certain allowances are to be eliminated. Arne Meiswinkel, the group’s chief negotiator, referred to the continued poor situation of the parent brand VW. Your return is not enough to be able to invest independently in the future. “The need for action is increasing massively – for all of us.” Management is not ruling out large-scale layoffs and is considering closing three plants. There was no rapprochement, but at least there were now concrete suggestions from management on the basis of which further negotiations could be carried out, IG Metall said after the meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for November 21st. Europe’s largest car manufacturer has been struggling for savings for a long time. The situation in many markets shows how difficult the environment is. In the period from January to September, the global market for cars and light commercial vehicles, at 57 million cars, barely budged compared to the same period last year. There is stagnation in Western Europe, America is growing only slightly, as is China, where local rivals are taking more and more market share. In this environment, the parent brand VW achieved a return of around two percent within a year, as shown in the figures published on Wednesday. It is therefore well below the target of 6.5 percent by 2026. The “Progressive” brand group around the VW Group brand Audi also fell in the first nine months – its return fell from 9.1 to 4.5 percent. The decisive factor was, among other things, special costs for the planned closure of the plant in Brussels, where production is expected to end in February. Porsche’s numbers were already known. 14.6 percent of the sports car manufacturer’s sales remained as profit over the course of the year after 18.8 percent in the same period last year. But financial experts also find positive aspects. Jose Asumendi from US Bank J.P. Morgan points to encouraging order intake from the VW Group, especially in the third quarter. From the perspective of Daniel Schwarz, analyst at the investment bank Stifel, the operating result was also better than feared given the latest earnings warning announced at the end of September. In an initial reaction from the stock market in the morning, the share price rose by more than two percent, but then lost some of the gains and was later still slightly positive at just over 90 euros. On a half-yearly basis, VW Group shares have lost more than 20 percent of their value. Affordable, competitive prices require a competitive cost base. Chief Financial Officer Antlitz, who as Chief Operating Officer is also responsible for managing large parts of day-to-day business, referred to a large number of new models, which provided impetus in the coming months and years. He particularly highlighted the planned affordable models, such as the electric ID.2, which is scheduled to come onto the market in 2026 for a price of around 25,000 euros. “Volkswagen continually demands vehicles in the entry-level segment, especially electric vehicles,” he said. “But you can only offer affordable, competitive prices if you have a competitive cost base.”More on the topicHe cited the Czech volume brand Škoda as a positive example. It achieved an operating return of more than eight percent in the first nine months. This is primarily due to the “competitive cost basis,” emphasized Antlitz. In Wolfsburg, however, the comparison has always been considered unfair. It is always said that Škoda benefits from the development work of the engineers at the Wolfsburg headquarters. In addition, work in the Czech Republic, with its generally lower wages, is not comparable to Germany. Regarding the dispute with the works council, the head of finance said that they wanted to find a solution quickly. But more important than speed is that the group finds a solution to become more competitive in the long term. It remains to be seen whether there will be a result this year. The dispute concerns 120,000 employees of Volkswagen AG in Germany. The works council warns that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk.
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