Before the Volkswagen Supervisory Board convenes to decide on proposed factory closures, Linke Party leader Luigi Pantisano has criticized the corporate board. Speaking to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Friday edition), he stated that the employees are angry, and rightfully so, given that they are responsible for the profits VW continues to make daily.
Pantisano commented that the workforce has adapted to the company’s changes, asserting that “all they need is a plan.” However, he alleged that the management feels no responsibility toward the workers who generated the bonuses for the board members. “They feel only accountable to the shareholders,” Pantisano claimed.
He expressed his anger that the federal government appears to be aligning itself with this management, specifically referencing the reform proposals put forward by the Berlin coalition. He stressed that the state “has a damn responsibility for all the people who depend on these factories.” To deliver a “powerful challenge” against what he described as a highly profit-driven corporate leadership and ignorant politics, he participated in the workers’ rally in front of the VW plant in Salzgitter.
