Stephan Weil
The state of Lower Saxony is a major VW shareholder and has considerable say there.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil tries to dispel worries about massive job cuts at Volkswagen. In an interview with the “Welt”, the SPD politician referred to a corresponding denial by the car manufacturer according to a preliminary announcement on Sunday and added: “Such a course would not be possible with the state of Lower Saxony.” The state is a major shareholder in the group and has there considerable say.
Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess, who sees the company in increasing competition with the electric car pioneer Tesla, had triggered sharp protests by the works council with statements about possible job cuts. According to insiders, Diess warned the supervisory board of the scenario of cutting up to 30,000 jobs in Germany at the end of September. A VW spokesman had then stated: “A reduction of 30,000 jobs is not an issue. There are no plans for this. ”
This has repeatedly driven the Volkswagen employees to make rapid changes so that the car manufacturer can survive in the competition. On Saturday it became known that Diess had invited Tesla boss Musk to speak at a management meeting. Musk spoke on Thursday via video at a VW conference in Alpbach, Austria. Diess confirmed the appearance on Twitter on Saturday and announced a return visit to the Tesla plant near Berlin. “We will visit you in Grünheide soon,” said the Volkswagen boss.
The Handelsblatt reported from participants that Musk had expressed the expectation at the conference that Volkswagen would master the change in the industry. When Diess asked why Tesla was so much faster than the carmaker, Musk replied: “It’s the management style. First and foremost, I am an engineer and, besides the car, I am fascinated by supply chains, logistics and production processes. ”
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More: Up to 30,000 fewer jobs – Diess’ mind games on job cuts divide Volkswagen