On Friday afternoon everything still sounded like everyday life. “After a stressful first half of 2022, many of us are looking forward to a well-deserved summer break,” wrote VW boss Herbert Diess (63). in a long LinkedIn post in English
to the employees of the group. “Thank you for your efforts and congratulations on the incredible achievements in most of our businesses, I am very pleased with our performance.” Then Diess said goodbye: “Well done! Enjoy the break – we’re in good shape for the second half. Herbert”.
Less than two hours after the news, shortly before the stock market closed at 6 p.m. on Friday evening, the bang came from Wolfsburg: the controversial VW leader is leaving. His message was a hidden farewell message. The company surprisingly announced that the manager had agreed with the supervisory board to resign on September 1st. The decision was “consensual”. The new head of the group is to be Porsche boss Oliver Blume (54), who has been traded as a possible successor for some time. The spokesman for the owner families spoke to Blume on Friday evening their trust.
Former BMW manager Diess has been head of VW since April 2018. Diess “significantly advanced the transformation of the company both during his time as CEO of the Volkswagen brand and of the group,” said the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch (71), thanking the manager on Friday evening. Diess had played a key role in driving forward the conversion of VW in e-mobility. The lone fighter had repeatedly provoked conflicts with his leadership style. His brutal switch to electromobility caused arguments with employees who feared for their jobs.
It was violent several times Differences of opinion with parts of the supervisory board about further strategy and about possible drastic job cuts
given by the largest car manufacturer in Europe. In the past year, a conflict over possible new savings programs with the works council had escalated. Even then, Diess had to relinquish power, he lost responsibility for the core VW brand. Recently there was an argument about the sluggish development of our own software and IT systems, which is becoming even more expensive.
Owner families are said to have forced changes
For a long time, the VW-owning families Porsche and Piech had repeatedly backed the Austrian Diess in disputes with the powerful works council. According to insiders, the impetus for the change at the top came from the families. The family representatives saw the need for a change in leadership, two people familiar with the deliberations on the supervisory board told the Reuters news agency on Friday. “This is incorrigible,” said one of them. He changed Volkswagen for the better. “But his communication is abysmal.” There was no specific reason, but the problems had accumulated.
In a statement, Volkswagen spoke of a generation change. Blume is nine years younger than Diess. The last sentence of the group’s statement states that Blume should continue to drive the transformation forward for the entire board. “With a leadership culture that focuses on team spirit.” In contrast to Diess, the Porsche boss likes to emphasize team spirit as a recipe for overcoming crises and celebrating successes. In almost every interview he mentions how important it is to involve employees and for managers to work together.
Head of the General Works Council, Daniela Cavallo, emphasized that all VW employees would have to be included in the conversion. “Today’s decisions contribute to that.”
For Blume, who was born in Braunschweig, the new job in Wolfsburg is a return home. He graduated from high school in Braunschweig and studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University there – he also did his doctorate in the subject. Blume knows the VW Group and its various brands very well. He started as a trainee at Audi in 1994, where he worked his way up. After a stint at Seat, he ended up as head of production planning at the Volkswagen brand in 2009. In 2013, Blume was appointed to the board of directors of the sports car subsidiary Porsche in Stuttgart. There he was initially responsible for the areas of production and logistics before becoming CEO in 2015.
Blume is said to have excellent contacts both with the Porsche/Piëch owner families and with the employee representatives. He geared Porsche towards electromobility early on and budgeted billions for it, but continued to reliably deliver profits – Porsche is one of the most profitable brands in the group. “From the point of view of the entire Supervisory Board, he is now the right person at the top to further sharpen customer orientation and the positioning of brands and products,” explained Supervisory Board Chairman Pötsch.
Blume remains head of Porsche at the same time
In addition to his new position, Blume is also to continue his current position as CEO of Porsche. He is currently working on an IPO for Porsche AG
, which is to take place in autumn. In a statement on Friday evening, Blume emphasized that he also wanted to remain loyal to Porsche in the long term. The Porsche team can rely on that. This also applies after a possible IPO. “We have successfully positioned Porsche technologically, economically and culturally.” At VW, Blume will in future be supported operationally by CFO Arno Antlitz (52), who will also be responsible for day-to-day business in the future, the group announced.
The surprising departure of the Volkswagen boss is affecting the shares of the Volkswagen Group after the trading day. The papers lose 2.6 percent in Frankfurt late trading. Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil, who represents the state as the second most important owner on the supervisory board, paid tribute to Diess. He gave the company the impetus for major new projects. Weil said of Blume: “I am confident that he will lead the Group with prudence and foresight in a team with the Executive Board, in good cooperation with the works council and with great respect for the employees.”
The employee representatives of the car manufacturer welcomed the personnel shift. In addition to its role as a technological favourite, Volkswagen must also do justice to its role as a social role model, explained IG Metall boss and Volkswagen supervisory board vice president Jörg Hofmann. “The decisions made today make it possible to keep up the pace and use the lead we have worked out.” Works council chief Daniela Cavallo explained that job security and profitability must remain equal corporate goals. “All colleagues have to be taken along. Today’s decisions contribute to that.”