Gunnar Kilian (43) has rescued Herbert Diess (59). By the end of 2016 that was – and it may sound bizarre, after all, Kilian was Secretary General of the Works Council at the time and Diess led the board of the VW brand.
But that’s just how Volkswagen works. And nobody understands Volkswagen as well as Gunnar Kilian.
This had come from BMW the year before. The operating return of VW was 2 percent, a clear downward trend. A renovation case.
This burst in and demanded the same time the reduction of at least 30 000 jobs. Everywhere he discovered too high costs, threw the power-spoiled works councils with ever new demands, even asked before promotions, whether the candidates are organized in the IG Metall.
Annoyed, Kilian and his boss, Works Council Leader Bernd Osterloh (61), came up with an appropriate strategy to get things under control. First, Osterloh publicly resisted, then organized in secret talks with members of the supervisory board and powerful boards of resistance.