Volkswagen CEO Says Productivity Needs to Improve, Warns of Job Cuts
October 28 2021 - 8:10AM
Dow Jones News
By Kim Richters
Volkswagen AG needs to improve productivity to compete with
electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc., which will include cutting jobs,
its chief executive officer said on Thursday.
German auto maker Volkswagen is preparing to overhaul its main
plant in Wolfsburg to keep up with its rival's new site near
Berlin, said CEO Herbert Diess at a press conference call the car
maker held as it released third-quarter results that took a hit
amid the global semiconductor shortage.
"There's a challenge from Tesla but we'll keep the pace", he
said.
While the company doesn't have a new plan to cut fixed costs so
far, Mr. Diess said the plant revamp will involve cutting jobs and
includes speeding up manufacturing time. "For sure we need some
headcount reduction," he said, without specifying the specific size
of the cuts.
The management's comments come amid recent media reports that
the CEO is clashing with Volkswagen's works council and the
company's supervisory board over possible headcount reduction and
plans for the Wolfsburg plant.
Write to Kim Richters at kim.richters@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2021 07:55 ET (11:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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