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VW’s Labor Chief: U.S. Fines Could Prompt Global Job Cuts
Hefty fines against Volkswagen AG for rigging diesels to cheat U.S. emission standards would trigger thousands of job cuts worldwide, warns Bernd Osterloh, VW supervisory board member and chair of the company’s powerful works council.
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Hefty fines against Volkswagen AG for rigging diesels to cheat U.S. emission standards would trigger thousands of job cuts worldwide, warns Bernd Osterloh, VW supervisory board member and chair of the company’s powerful works council.
Osterloh tells a meeting of 20,000 workers in Germany that an “unprecedented financial penalty” in the U.S. would have “dramatic social consequences." He urges U.S. officials to consider the societal impact when it decides penalties.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has sued VW for as much as $42 billion (€38 billion) for violating American environmental laws. The carmaker also faces numerous state-level lawsuits, plus the expense of repairing and/or replacing 580,000 affected diesels in the U.S.
The crisis has prompted a sweeping cost-cutting effort within VW. Osterloh estimates the company could save €2 billion ($2.2 billion), in large part by streamlining its current model lineup. He opposes any staff cuts to achieve what he dismisses as an unrealistic goal of hiking productivity 10%.
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