Jürgen Stackmann
The environment appreciates the sales director for his straightforwardness.
(Photo: Friso Gentsch / Volkswagen AG)
Frankfurt Jürgen Stackmann does not suffer from a lack of confidence. Still remembered on Tuesday Volkswagen-Manager in a post on the LinkedIn job portal to the diesel scandalwho had shaken the car maker five years ago. “What appeared to be our darkest hour became a great opportunity,” Stackmann wrote.
A friendly description for a criminal case, of the Volkswagen cost more than 30 billion euros and left behind eleven million customers with manipulated diesel cars. Stackmann is the sales director of the core brand VW and is apparently the first seller of the company to be optimistic. However, the 58-year-old will soon lose this role.
Because he has fallen out of favor with the superiors in the VW world. Stackmann will therefore have to give up the job as Volkswagen Sales Director, the Handelsblatt learned from corporate circles. The company itself did not want to comment on this.
There are various explanations in the Volkswagen ranks for the replacement of North German. One is that from the point of view of the group’s management, Stackmann has done too little for the sales of the Passat and Golf models.
The sales figures for these vehicles could have been better if Stackmann had stirred the advertising drum more, it was said. Unlike its predecessors, the Golf 8 was not a leader in industry-wide sales in its class.
Massive shortcomings in golf
Another reason for the planned resignation: Stackmann gave opposition. Specifically, the question is when the new Golf should be launched. The eighth edition of the vehicle was launched by VW – but with considerable problems.
So the cars did not have all the technical functions announced in advance; at times the group had to stop delivery. The reason for this was software errors in the emergency call system, which have now been remedied.
Stackmann is sometimes considered bulky, but overall straightforward. For this he is valued by his surroundings. When the question arose about the start of sales for the Golf, it is said that he pleaded for a postponement with reference to the list of defects.
In contrast, especially VW boss Herbert Diess who also headed the core brand at the time in question. Stackmann could not assert himself with his objections, since VW feared an image problem in the event, said a manager familiar with the processes. VW declined to comment.
Stackmann is not the only personnel that the company is busy shortly before the plant holidays begin. In the past few days, VW had to confirm a number of changes among its top people. Large parts of the second management level are affected. Skoda-Chef Bernhard Maier has to go as well as the head of the van division, Thomas Sedran, and truck boss Andreas Renschler.
Dispute in the supervisory board
The board of directors of the core brand VW has also been largely changed. So Christian Senger has to give way to the top software manager shortly after his promotion. There was also a change at the top: This had to hand over the management of the core brand to Ralf Brandstätter.
This was preceded by a massive dispute with the supervisory board. Diess had accused the committee of violations of the law at a meeting with more than 3,000 managers in early June, but was then unable to prove it. The members of the Supervisory Board were responsible for these allegations and the way in which they were made Members of the works council and the Porsche / Piech family were angryas it was called in their environment.
After a period of reflection, the supervisors gave up their initial consideration of firing Diess as CEO without notice. A hasty change at the top was not appropriate in view of the economic upheavals caused by the corona crisis, said supervisory boards afterwards.
In order to limit the power of dies, but also because the core brand has to fight sales problems, he had to relinquish control over the group with the highest sales. After the scandal, screening began at the second management level.
It is known that Stackmann remains part of the VW group. Some of the previously replaced managers are moving to other positions. Stackmann has been part of the company for exactly ten years. After studying business administration, he initially worked for Ford in Europe before moving to the VW subsidiary in July 2010 Skoda changed. After a position as head of the sister company Seat, he was appointed to the position of the core brand Volkswagen five years ago.
More: Volkswagen core brand hires Seat Manager as production manager.