VW in corona pandemic - Works Council Chairman Osterloh: Board of Directors must plan better

Volkswagen is also entering an uncertain second Corona year in 2021. Works council chief Osterloh calls on the management to make closer agreements on the long-term issues.

Wolfsburg -

According to works council

chairman Bernd Osterloh

, the

corona crisis

is likely

to keep

the world's largest car company

Volkswagen

busy for even longer in 2021.

Current supply bottlenecks at suppliers and the ongoing weak sales showed how sensitive the situation is, said the top employee representative in

Wolfsburg of

the German press agency.

At the same time,

VW has

to tackle the issues of the future for the next few years - the difficult balance between investments and savings goals repeatedly triggers conflicts with

CEO Herbert Diess *

.

When developing the model, the works council demands better, joint planning “from the start”.

"We have a serious problem," said Osterloh about the shortage of semiconductors for electronic parts.

“We can't build the car then.

There are no short-term delivery alternatives. "Corona-related staff shortages at a seat supplier are also critical - and" that dealers in some EU countries have closed again ".

Volkswagen in corona pandemic: the consequences will also be felt in the coming year 2021

At

VW *

Osterloh estimated that such pandemic consequences are likely to persist “at least in the first quarter, if not longer”.

The tariff regulation for

short-time work

allows a flexible reaction.

"But what exactly that will look like for the first half of the year, we cannot say anything about this from today's perspective," emphasized the works council chairman.

A central project for the next few years will be the development and production of a new

electric volume model

with the working title

“Aeroliner”

at the headquarters.

“The latest generation of software developed by us in-house will be used in the vehicle and will be launched in 2025,” explained Osterloh.

“And the“ Aeroliner ”could become a multi-brand model in well six-digit numbers per year - all built in Wolfsburg.” The Supervisory Board recently cleared the way for this location decision.

On the

other hand, there had recently been irritations in the control committee

around a possible early contract extension for

Diess

.

“The supervisory board should appear to be driven.

But that didn't succeed - and the Supervisory Board never was, ”said Osterloh.

“I hope that we will concentrate on the operational business in the new year.

It is very necessary.

The group's board of directors is taking a new approach - that is a good thing. ”In the past few weeks, the company had given the public a“ sometimes very uneasy ”image.

But Diess has his support.

VW works council boss Osterloh on Tesla: Elon Musk's company - call for clear communication

Volkswagen

takes the

US electric rival Tesla *

, which is now also relying on cheaper cars, "very seriously," said Osterloh.

But not every production technology used by Tesla automatically works with other manufacturers.

“We have decades of experience in all of these manufacturing topics.

We don't have to hide. "In the standardization of battery

cell

designs, for example, the company of founder

Elon Musk *

currently has clear advantages:" We currently have around two dozen more cell variants than Tesla. "

Osterloh called on the management for more employee participation and clearer communication in the model planning: "I expect a much stronger cooperation between development, procurement, production and sales, but also between the brands in general - with corresponding specifications at board level." In the spring there had been a dispute over the work pressure on the lines and malfunctions of the new Golf edition.

"The more complex a model becomes, the more you have to pay attention to closer coordination early on," says Osterloh.

There were software problems with

the

E-Auto ID.3

, which are fixed with updates.

The next copy in the series will go on sale from January: “In the first quarter, the ID.4 will gradually reach our dealerships, in Germany and in other important EU markets.” E-models are important in order to achieve the more stringent climate targets - Inside VW, there is talk of 300,000 more units per year in Europe.

"That would be challenging, but doable," said Osterloh.

"We could

build the

300,000 pieces in

Wolfsburg

if we have to."

VW: Digitization in the auto industry - Osterloh expects the board member

The necessary

battery cell capacities

are

likely to be a medium-term bottleneck

.

Suppliers also have to invest here, demanded

Osterloh

.

"You can't always just complain," he said of the criticism that car companies were increasingly producing components themselves.

And

the energy industry must make its contribution to the

expansion of

the

charging network

.

The

VW core brand made

further progress in

expanding the infrastructure at its own locations in the past

year: According to the company, over 1200 charging points have now been set up in Germany, most of which can be used publicly.

Around 750 more charging points are expected to go into operation by the end of 2021.

When it comes to improving productivity,

VW management

should not only formulate goals, but must first increase existing resources through leaner processes and less duplication, said Osterloh.

The conversion in the direction of alternative drives and networking can be pushed through even better further qualification: "Our employees must be more involved in the new jobs."

Digitization in the

automotive industry

should not be limited to cars - the new board department for IT and software should therefore also efficiently interlink IT platforms with one another.

There are already suggestions for the occupation, said Osterloh: "I am counting on a member of the board." With the software in the vehicles, the proportion of in-house programming and added value should increase sharply.

(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network.