IG Metall boss Hoffmann
Even after the settled dispute with the VW group management, the unionist flexed his muscles.
Frankfurt After the management crisis at Volkswagen was resolved, IG Metall warns CEO Herbert Diess of new provocations. “This is now a last attempt at cooperation,” said IG Metall boss Jörg Hofmann of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” according to the preliminary report. “We do this in the hope that his erratic outbursts will come to an end.” If not, the topic will have to be faced anew. “I have no illusions about that.”
At the end of September, Diess had turned the works council against itself by considering a possible reduction of tens of thousands of jobs. Only after a lengthy search for a compromise was it possible to end the dispute with a further erosion of the power of Diess a week ago.
At the beginning of the year, VW brand boss Ralf Brandstätter was promoted to the Group’s executive board and took over the new “Volkswagen Passenger Cars” department. CEO Diess is to hand over the management of the important, recently ailing China business to Brandstätter in mid-2022, but will retain responsibility for the volume brands and will become the top boss of the software subsidiary Cariad.
The 63-year-old also remains responsible for the strategy in areas such as software and batteries. “If Herbert Diess wants to develop the company forwards as CEO, he has to prove himself there,” said Hofmann. The past cannot be erased. Nevertheless, it is now the right solution for VW, “that we as employees could avoid a basic conflict with the shareholders and continue with Mr. Diess for the time being”.
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Its strategic competence is undisputed, but that alone is not enough for a CEO, said Hofmann. “As I see it, this also includes the ability to inspire the team. You don’t do that via Twitter or LinkedIn, but through good and reliable communication. ”
More: Herbert Diess remains VW boss – but largely withdraws from operational business