Klüngelei at VW subsidiary? Resignation from the MAN truck division suddenly appears in a new light

The withdrawal of the MAN works council was recently announced.

However, the background could be different from what is publicly communicated.

VW is also involved.

Munich - Many industry experts were surprised by the news that MAN works council chairman "Saki" Stimoniaris (also on the VW supervisory board since 2017) is stepping down from his posts. In a compact announcement in August, “personal reasons” were mentioned and the company thanked the manager for his service. The works council let it be known that the German-Greek, who was born in Munich, “put the future of the company and the employees above his own health”.

However, there are indications that the separation could in reality have had a different background - and that fits into a picture that has not appeared for the first time in the recent history of VW.

The

BusinessInsider

portal

has published a report that highlights clubbing and favoritism as the cause of the abrupt separation between MAN mother Traton and the German-Greek Stimoniaris.

MAN: Investigations against the head of the works council for taking advantage

Several company officials reported to the portal that the compliance department of MAN and the parent company Traton * has been conducting investigations for some time to deal with the inadmissible privileges of the resigned Athanasios Stimoniaris. One accusation: Stimoniaris had unofficially used a colleague from the works council as a chauffeur.

Corresponding inquiries from the

BusinessInsider

to the person concerned and to the former employer MAN were reportedly unanswered or unaware.

The industrial giants MAN and Volkswagen are threatened with unpleasant consequences as a result of the possible incidents: According to the Works Constitution Act, works council members may neither be favored nor disadvantaged.

Therefore, according to the report, the focus is currently on the question of whether responsible HR directors allow the departed superior to receive undue advantages.

VW and MAN: Rumors about Stimoniaris are reminiscent of further incidents

The case shows parallels to several known cases within the VW group:

• The departure of the polarizing head of the Porsche works council, Uwe Hück, came as a surprise in 2019.

  Investigations showed that the chairman of the employees' side enjoyed advantages over a longer period of time, there is even talk of a "sun king".

  With a "golden handshake" an attempt was made to keep the events secret.

• The Braunschweig regional court is currently dealing with a similar matter: four VW HR managers are charged with suspicion of breach of trust.

  The quartet is said to have paid works councils of the car manufacturer too high salaries.

  Ex-works council boss Bernd Osterloh allegedly received three million euros too much.

There have been dark clouds over MAN for a long time: business is in crisis, the transformation to e-mobility stands like a sword of Damocles over the company. The business portal also reports of a "frustrating human interaction" in the management team. The boss Andreas Trostmann, who has switched from VW to MAN, has no future in the Traton division, it is forecast.

* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA