Having steered the company through the infamous “Dieselgate” scandal, Volkswagen Group chief executive officer Herbert Diess is now looking to extend his contract with Wolfsburg past 2023, and its executive committee will be weighing up options for his future.
According to Reuters, the board will convene today to discuss Diess’ demand for an extension, according to three sources close to the matter. The options will be put on the table,” said one of those sources, adding that the outcome remains unclear at the moment.
The publication had previously reported that Diess had asked the controlling families to support extending his contract as a vote of confidence in his leadership. The board has opposed the 62-year-old executive’s efforts to reform the group, and a person familiar with the issue has said that he may review his position if the board continues to push back on his measures.
Diess was appointed head of the Volkswagen brand in 2015, replacing Martin Winterkorn in the wake of the diesel emissions cheating scandal. He then assumed his current role in April 2018 in the wake of former CEO Matthias Müller‘s ousting. Diess relinquished his VW brand position earlier this year to Ralf Brandstätter, ostensibly to grant him “greater leeway for his tasks” as group CEO.
The contract is only due to expire in 2023, and German companies usually hold contract extension negotiations a year before they expire, Reuters said. The convening Volkswagen executive committee is chaired by Hans Dieter Pötsch and includes family members Wolfgang Porsche and Hans Michel Piëch, as well as labour chief Bernd Osterloh and Lower Saxony minister president Stephan Weil.
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They would probably keep him around until another scandalgate explodes so they could throw him under the VW bus
Well those new models came out under him were all quite disappointing…
Do VW have receive Dr.LCR’s CV?
The fact that VW is resisting reforms is enough for us to predict another scandal will happen in near future. Perhaps, VW EV scandal with fake claims this time?