Daimler calls its management on a strict austerity course. A corresponding letter had gone to the executives of the group, reported the Stuttgarter Nachrichten. "We have to compensate for at least the special factors in the second quarter in the amount of 4.2 billion euros in the short term," the newspaper quoted from the letter. A Daimler spokesman did not comment on the letter.
Daimler's CEO Ola Källenius, who has been in office since May, wants to present a detailed austerity package and his strategy for the coming years in November. Finally, he had also tuned the workforce to a tough course.
"We have to drastically increase efficiency"
"We have to increase efficiency dramatically, we have to question everything, think about all costs," Källenius had recently told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" - but without mentioning numbers. Already predecessor Dieter Zetsche had pointed earlier this year in view of the weakening industry situation on the need for a tough austerity program.
Daimler had been in the red in the second quarter, partly due to provisions for procedures related to the diesel scandal. However, in the now-publicized letter, the Daimler Board of Management made it clear that not all the challenges of the first half of the year were due to external influences. "Some - with great leverage - are homemade."
According to the letter, the Executive Board is dissatisfied with the development of liquidity. "The cash outflow we last registered is unacceptable," it says. The financial solidity is the "lifeline of our company".
The Daimler share was down 2.6 percent on Monday in a weak sector environment. Daimler posted a cash outflow of 3.3 billion euros in the first half of the year. Even then, Källenius had made it clear: "The numbers are far from satisfactory."
Especially on the stock market, the cash position is a much-noticed indicator, because it provides information about the possibilities for dividend payment and for investments.
