CEO Oliver Blume, VW supervisory board member Wolfgang Porsche and Volkswagen chief controller Hans Dieter Pötsch (from left) in Berlin (archive photo): What to do with six billion euros? Photo: dpa
Surprises are a beautiful thing in and of themselves. At Volkswagen, however, they are currently becoming a political issue. As even the head of finance admits, the car manufacturer quite surprisingly has around six billion euros more in its coffers than expected.
What’s explosive is that the windfall is likely to result in the board of directors receiving a bonus in times of austerity and staff cuts, the exact amount of which is still unclear. The shareholders, especially the powerful Porsche-Piëch ownership clan, should also benefit from the dividend.
To accuse the board of directors of collecting billions primarily to serve themselves falls into the category of populism. Volkswagen is in crisis and has to save money. CFO Antlitz did exactly that. It’s hard to blame him for that.
The problem is not the inflow of money
According to analysts, only about a quarter of the sum comes from lower investments. The majority comes from inventory reductions, faster payment receipts and stretched liabilities. In short: from homework done. Those who reduce costs and streamline processes improve their account balances. This is not magic, but business logic. The size of the effect still seems to have been surprising.
The real problem lies less in the inflow of money itself than in how it is handled. Or to put it another way: The six billion euros could have been a symbol of stabilization. Instead, they now threaten to become a symbol of a lack of tact.
Volkswagen
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The management around CEO Oliver Blume would have had a simple way out of the mess: a voluntary waiver.
One sentence would have been enough to remove the fertile ground for the current distribution debates: “We are forgoing cash flow bonuses this year.” The board missed this momentum.
The fight for shares hurts everyone
Instead, there is now a fight for shares that no one can win. VW needs the money for its own future viability. In Germany alone, costs are expected to shrink by 15 billion euros annually by the end of the decade.
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There is also the question of dividends. The owner families also benefit from the windfall. A waiver by management would automatically have intensified the debate as to whether now is really the time for high payouts – or whether it would be better to keep the money in the company. Investments, reserves, stability: that’s what matters now.
“Every suggestion that makes a contribution to achieving the goal helps,” ex-HR manager Gunnar Kilian once said – at the time, with a view to the staff giving up work. Today this sentence could also apply to the top management of the company. It’s not too late for surprises like this.