It was extraordinary turbulence that the Volkswagen Group experienced at its general meeting two years ago. In the Berlin event center Citycube, participants bone to draw attention to grievances around a work in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. A cake flew through the hall and narrowly missed large shareholder Wolfgang Porsche. Since then, VW has been holding its shareholder meeting digitally. But the displeasure of the investors can still be grasped with their hands, and in many points they are right. With a view to the development of the stock price of the past year, they are openly talked about a “further decline”. The savings agreed with the works council including job cuts see investors as a correct step, but also as a “consequence of long -lasting, structural failures”. Falling market shares in China, an uncertain future in America and the weakness in the demand in Europe: These are just a few of the risks that, among shareholders, lead to a justified doubt as to whether there is actually an improvement in sight soon. In any case, VW is removed from the course stands of earlier years despite an easy revival at the beginning of the year. A large part of the difficulties is related to defects in corporate management, the structure of which violates too many places against common corporate government rules. Double functions in the management of the VW Group, its subsidiaries and the Familyholding Porsche SE, too few independent supervisory boards and the great influence of politics and works councils in the company keep the stock on the ground and prevent VW from realigning itself quickly and efficiently. All of this is known for a long time. But so far the owner families Porsche and Piëch and the management have little willingness to change anything. More on the subject of the first step, it is to dissolve Oliver Blume’s double role as the head of VW and Porsche. But it cannot stay that way. Family members and politicians should have less influence on the supervisory boards, more independent inspectors would be a signal to the capital market. It would be a real sign that Germany’s largest car company is really interested in renewal, to match the overdue transition from the third to the fourth generation of family.
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