Amid disputes over cost-cutting plans put forward by CEO Oliver Blume, Volkswagen is reportedly making what may be its last attempt to prevent a major public confrontation at the upcoming supervisory board meeting. After representatives from the Volkswagen group, the state of Lower Saxony, and the employees failed to reach a compromise during scheduled negotiations on Monday and Tuesday, supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch has called all factions together for an unscheduled meeting on Wednesday evening, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Pötsch will first meet with the Volkswagen management board in the evening. Following that, the chairman reportedly intends to engage in discussions with the state of Lower Saxony and the workforce.
The board of Europe’s largest automaker is set to meet on Friday, where it will vote on Blume’s austerity package. Given the failed preliminary negotiations, a rejection of the package is currently considered highly likely.
If Pötsch’s rescue effort fails and the supervisory board rejects the cost-cutting plan on Friday, Blume’s team is preparing for an extraordinary general meeting to put the question to the shareholders. The employees, meanwhile, plan to take legal action should a majority of shareholders approve Blume’s austerity package at such a meeting.
