VOW3 Volkswagen AG

   By William Boston 
 

BERLIN--Volkswagen AG Chief Finance Officer Frank Witter has rejected an offer to extend his contract for another five years, and informed the company's directors that he will step down in June 2021, according to people familiar with the situation.

Mr. Witter, who is 60 years old, was appointed finance chief in October 2015 and his current contract is set to expire in October. According to people familiar with the situation, he has agreed to a nine-month extension of his contract to June next year, when he plans to step down for personal reasons.

He became finance chief just weeks after Volkswagen was charged by U.S. authorities with defrauding U.S. customers and the government by rigging diesel-powered vehicles to cheat emissions tests. He has stewarded Volkswagen's finances at a time when the company accrued more than $30 billion in fines, penalties, and compensation to consumers after admitting to rigging nearly 11 million vehicles world-wide with illegal emissions software.

Mr. Witter agreed to a brief extension of his contract to give Volkswagen more time to find a suitable replacement, the people said.

The news was first reported by Germany's business monthly Manager Magazin.

Write to William Boston at William.Boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2020 08:39 ET (13:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.