The Volkswagen Group Works Council has criticized Group CEO Oliver Blume for failing to communicate clearly with the workforce. A spokesperson for the council told RTL and ntv on Sunday that recent quotes published in the press “do not bring any clarity and only make everything worse.”
The spokesperson stressed that the current situation is “simply unbearable,” particularly for the more than 40,000 employees at five specific locations-Emden, Hannover, Neckarsulm, Osnabrück, and Zwickau-whose looming or eventual closure has dominated the headlines for weeks.
The Group Works Council noted a significant decline in trust among the employees regarding the management. The spokesperson recalled that in the beginning, when Blume debuted as CEO, he presented himself as “Olli” and the “child of the region,” claiming his mission was “for the people,” a promise that initially earned him praise from many within the workforce. However, “there is virtually nothing left of that now,” the council stated.
Regarding the employees’ overall opinion of his current communication strategy, the spokesperson confirmed that this will become clearer during the company meetings following the summer break.
