Volkswagen’s works council chief, Bernd Osterloh, has criticised Porsche’s contempt for Volkswagen workers.
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In an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper he said: “If I were taking over a company then I wouldn’t start the way that Porsche has.” He said that Porsche had apparently planned to limit Volkswagen workers’ representation on the management board from the start.
Porsche announced on Tuesday that it had approved a plan to raise its shareholding in Volkswagen from 30.6% to over 50%. Earlier it reached an agreement with the Volkswagen works council to allow it greater representation on the board of the Porsche holding company, Porsche Holding SE, than the Porsche works council, which represents fewer employees. Originally Porsche had planned for Porsche workers and Volkswagen workers to be equally represented on the board if it increased its shareholding in Volkswagen to over 50%.
Osterloh contrasted Porsche’s approach to taking control of Volkswagen with that of Volkswagen taking control of Scania, as announced on Monday this week. He said the Scania works council had been consulted on plans at an early stage and kept informed throughout negotiations.
He also noted the VW CEO Martin Winterkorn has assured Scania workers that they would be treated fairly. In contrast he said that Porsche’s attitude suggests, “that they do not want any VW worker representation”.
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