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Tense situation:
Volkswagen boss
Herbert Diess
remains controversial on the supervisory board
Photo: SASCHA STEINBACH / EPA
The outcome of the power struggle for Volkswagen boss
Herbert Diess
(63) is apparently still open after several hours of deliberations in the presidium of the supervisory board. The members of the leadership circle, with equal representation, broke up on Tuesday evening after several hours of deliberations without a decision, said a person with knowledge of the conversations from the Reuters news agency. "The subject is so hot, it is hot on the button. I can not comment on it," said the insider. Another person said, "The constructive talks are ongoing."
Meanwhile, Volkswagen remains under pressure on the stock exchange. "The capital market is fed up with this back and forth," commented an analyst who did not want to be named. As long as the quarrels persist, no one deals with the company. For a long time, this was considered the darling of the stock experts who are banking on the transformation of the Wolfsburg-based car company.
On Wednesday, the preferred share listed in the Dax continued its downturn. The paper lost 2 percent of its value and thus more than the overall market. Overall, the share price shrank by 18 percent in the past six months, while major competitors such as Daimler and BMW gained significantly in value. The shares of the Stuttgart group rose by 19 percent, those of the Munich car manufacturer by 11 percent. The Wolfsburg-based company also performed worse compared to international volume manufacturers: the titles of Opel parent company Stellantis and US car maker General Motors each gained 11 percent. The papers of the US rival Ford even rose 55 percent. Only the shares of the battered French car maker Renault lost 1 percent.The papers from Tesla - VW under Diess measured itself against the US company - went unchallenged and gained 83 percent. At over a trillion dollars, the US electric car maker was recently valued higher on the stock exchange than its competitors combined.
Diess started in April 2018 to drive the Wolfsburg-based group's share price through the switch to electromobility, the conversion to a software-supported mobility provider and the start of its own battery cell production. The group is currently further away from the target of a market value of 200 billion euros with around 119 billion euros than it was a few months ago. In mid-March, the preferred share had already been quoted at over EUR 250. On Wednesday it was just under 174 euros.
In the past year and a half, Diess had been in disputes with the board of directors and was about to be dismissed.
He is always offensive with his leadership style, which is perceived by the employees as provocative.
Partly consciously in order to accelerate the transformation of the group.
The relationship between him and the works council is considered to be badly damaged since considerations about a possible reduction of up to 30,000 jobs became public in September.
He has also met with criticism from the state of Lower Saxony as the second largest shareholder.
On the other hand, the Porsche and Piech families, who hold the majority of the votes through Porsche SE, most recently with the 63-year-old, whose contract was only extended in July.
ak / Reuters