Whether in the Bundesliga or the Champions League, this kind of green from Germany is always full of indescribable "ferocity". They are chariots, more like wolves, perhaps because of the name and the team's personality. China fans prefer to call Wolfsburg "Wolfsburg".
No matter what level of competition, the public stadium on the arles River will always be packed. 1October 28th, 165438+, cheers like a mountain call tsunami came from above the stadium. Wolfsburg reversed Bremen 5-3, and the battle song of victory floated to the periphery and floated to Audi ag not far away.
Diss, CEO of Volkswagen Group, stood at the window and looked at the smoke that had just dispersed over the stadium. He thought for a moment and typed this sentence on the computer-"How can we change the public?"
It's not just the public that needs to change.
Standing on the torrent of the times, Diss knows very well that reform is more valuable than victory for the "Wolfsburg Team", especially for Wolfsburg and Volkswagen.
"Audi AG is very complicated and there are some differences in the interests of shareholders. Management is engaged in internal competition. In a period of rapid change, scale and history may become a greater burden. "
This kind of spit was made public by the CEO of the group. This kind of "internal letter" is rare. Whether it's putting pressure on the group or scraping bones to cure drugs, Edith knows that he must do something and say something. "successfully bringing this tanker into the future is the biggest challenge in my career. Despite some success today, my goal is to make this giant company and all its stakeholders rethink and try to acquire new skills. Many of these structures are complex, and there are different interests and political agendas in the group, which makes the already large projects more time-consuming and complicated. "
Diss rarely reveals the internal contradictions of the mass group in the article-bloated structure, complex and huge interest groups, outdated concepts ... all dissatisfaction is made public under the pen of CEO.
Just a few days ago, Dis, as the CEO of Volkswagen Group, was not invited to attend the celebration ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Labor Committee, which was probably the fuse for Dis to put pen to paper.
In 20 18, when the high-spirited Diss took over the helm of Volkswagen from Muller, he must have never thought about why life was so difficult.
In June this year, the Board of Supervisors of Volkswagen Group suddenly announced personnel changes, and Ralph Brandstaeter, chief operating officer of Volkswagen brand, succeeded Diss as CEO of Volkswagen brand. Diss lost the CEO title of Volkswagen brand and retained the CEO title of Volkswagen Group.
Officially, if someone shared some responsibilities for Edith, he could devote himself to the reform of the group. The fact is well known to the outside world that Edith has seized power.
Dis has been regarded as the most powerful reformer in the traditional automobile industry since it took charge of Volkswagen Group. Dis has just turned 60, and it's not too old to steer this car. He still wants to do many things. He wants to complete the last stop of his career as a professional manager in Volkswagen, the world's leading automobile group.
The reform has just begun, and "renewal" has become the last straw to continue the mission. According to German practice, enterprises usually decide whether to extend the contract term of management committee members one year before the contract expires.
But this time, after Osterloh, the trade union leader, blocked Diss' reform efforts, Diss forcibly extended the contract. This meeting, which should be held at least in April 2022, was urgently moved to today.
After the open letter was published and repeatedly rejected by the trade union, Diss still applied to the board of directors of Volkswagen for renewal, and the executive committee of Volkswagen Group held a collective meeting on 65438+February 1 day to discuss whether Diss would extend the existing contract.
The answer is obviously vague. Diss's request has not been confirmed. "Members of the Executive Committee will not be forced to make decisions. They are in no hurry. " After the meeting, the German media expressed this.
Although Edith's request was not passed, as long as the reform continues, this protracted contest will never stop. For Audi AG, the "elephant turn" reform is an arduous and complicated system engineering, which requires great courage and sacrifice.
The power of the guild
Since he took over Volkswagen, Volkswagen has made a series of drastic innovations. Diss not only cut off Phaeton's business with sustained losses and huge investment, but also pushed for cost reduction to help pay for 34 billion euros of investment in electric vehicles and self-driving cars and 50 billion euros of battery purchase for electric vehicles.
Of course, the most direct and effective way to cut costs can't avoid "layoffs". In order to achieve rapid transformation, Diss tried to cut more jobs than planned and improve other aspects of efficiency, but this also caused dissatisfaction among labor representatives.
In the western world, almost every CEO who vigorously cuts costs and improves efficiency will encounter great obstacles from trade unions. Mary Bora of General Motors is an example. The reform plan implemented by the United States even led to a 40-day general strike.
Next year, the chief financial officer and chief purchasing officer of Volkswagen Group will leave soon. As CEO, Diss put forward his own list of candidates, but the nomination was opposed by trade union representatives, and the pace of CEO reform struggled under the restrictions of trade unions.
For a long time, Diss has been hoping that Volkswagen Group will "slim down" and cut off non-core businesses and brands. There are even rumors of selling brands such as Ducati and Bugatti. In Edith's view, such streamlining is more conducive to the Group's transformation to electrification and digitalization.
If you want to "slim down", you will have to lay off employees, and the trade union that guarantees the interests of employees will definitely not support Diss's opinion. Under the intensification of contradictions, the guild's dissatisfaction with Diss gradually rose to individuals, accusing them of lack of ability. In June this year, Volkswagen's heavy new car ID.3 encountered software failure before listing and had to postpone its listing. However, this confidential information was disclosed to the media by some people in the board of supervisors, which led to doubts about the public's ability to electrify and digitize.
Dis stood up angrily and shouted, "This is a crime!" " Of course, after the incident, the calm Diss apologized for his impulsiveness and paid the price to step down as CEO of Volkswagen brand.
In the history of Volkswagen Group, more than one CEO was ousted for offending the trade union. Bernd, who served as CEO of the group from 2002 to 2006? Pischetsrieder, Wolfgang, CEO of Volkswagen brand from 2005 to 2007? That's how bernhard stepped down.
Obviously, Edith doesn't want to make the same mistake again.
Within audi ag, the Porsche-Piech family is the largest shareholder, holding 53% of the voting rights, and the government of Lower Saxony (where Volkswagen is headquartered) controls 20% of the voting rights, making it the second largest shareholder. Therefore, Professor Ferdinand Duden Hoff, director of the Duisburg Automotive Research Center in Germany, said that Volkswagen Group is essentially a "listed state-owned enterprise".
Volkswagen Group has a board of supervisors composed of 20 people, which is responsible for appointing and supervising the management of the group and approving the company's major decisions. Trade union representatives not only control the nine seats on the board of supervisors, but also have the right to decide whether to renew the contract with the CEO, and offending trade unions often has only one outcome.
The second half of diss
"Either fully support CEO Diss or replace him."
This is the loudest voice of the German media at the moment. No one wants to see struggle and internal friction. When the tide of the times surges forward, any waiting and staying means retreating. Obviously, the public has no time.
On the day of the Executive Committee meeting, Volkswagen's share price fell by more than 1%.
The decline in Volkswagen's share price reflects the market's uncertainty about the future of Volkswagen Group. If CEO Diss can successfully renew his contract, the outside world will take a more positive attitude towards the future of Volkswagen Group's electrification and digitalization strategy. On the other hand, if the future of CEO Diss is uncertain, it will suppress the market popularity of Volkswagen Group.
Two months ago, Volkswagen China just announced that Volkswagen has just approved an investment plan of 654.38+05 billion euros (US$ 654.38+07.8 billion), and plans to spend 73 billion euros on the research and development of electric and self-driving cars in the next five years. Including the plan to invest 654.38+0.5 billion euros with SAIC Volkswagen, FAW Volkswagen and JAC Volkswagen in the field of electric vehicles from 2020 to 2024, Diss has been sparing no effort to promote digital transformation.
In the open letter, Diss also mentioned his own plan. "The transformation strategy of the new Audi ag 2025 is divided into three stages. At present, the first phase has ended, the core brand has returned to profitability, and the first electric, fully networked and sustainable car ID.3 has been launched. Our current climate goal is more ambitious, and this goal is also accelerating the transformation process. New competitors with IT business capabilities, such as Tesla, are keeping up with the pace of change and setting new standards. "
But in fact, in front of Edith and in the eyes of the outside world, it is just a plan. Edith's staying or not will affect the future trend of the public to a certain extent.
In the past two years, while internal disputes are inextricably linked, the external market has undergone earth-shaking changes. In just two years, Tesla has grown from a "new force" to a real subversive, and its market value has already exceeded 500 billion US dollars, more than five times that of the Volkswagen Group. There's really not much time left for Diss.
Will Volkswagen have 16 factories to produce electric vehicles around the world before the end of 2022?
In 2023, can its production plan of 6,543,800 electric vehicles be completed as scheduled?
Can Volkswagen Group still invest 33 billion euros in electrification layout before 2025? ...
The answers under these time nodes are waiting for the public's answer, but it is still unknown whether this answer can be filled in by Edith.
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This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.