Process for works council salaries: Public prosecutor calls for suspended sentences for VW HR managers

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Bernd Osterloh as a witness in the process: unlawfully overpaid?

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / dpa

Before the Braunschweig regional court, three former and one current VW personnel manager are charged with breach of trust, sometimes in a particularly serious case at the expense of the car manufacturer.

In their pleadings, the public prosecutor's office has now called for suspended sentences and, in some cases, sensitive conditions.

With regard to the payment and bonuses of leading works councils, including the payment of ex-works council boss Bernd Osterloh, the defendants acted contrary to their duties and with intent, said public prosecutor Sonja Walther. According to a spokesman for the regional court, she accused the ex-corporate personnel chief Horst Neumann of the greatest responsibility: According to the will of the prosecution, he should be sentenced to one year and ten months in prison and paid 1.5 million euros probation to a non-profit organization.

Against Karlheinz Blessing, who took over responsibility for personnel issues at Europe's largest car company at the beginning of 2016, the public prosecutor has demanded an eight-month suspended sentence and a suspended condition of 200,000 euros.

The other two executives are to receive the prosecutor's request for suspended sentences of six months and two years respectively.

The prosecutor is convinced that the four of them released excessive remuneration and bonuses to the senior members of the employee representatives between 2011 and 2016.

They are said to have paid them salaries that otherwise they would never have been able to achieve because of their qualifications and their career in the VW Group.

According to the public prosecutor's office, they should have known that and thus harmed Volkswagen.

At the beginning of the trial, the defendants rejected the allegations.

The hearing will continue later in the day with the defense attorneys' pleadings.

A verdict is due to fall on Tuesday.

File number: 16 KLs 85/19

apr / dpa