Το VW Group ανακοίνωσε πως μειώνει το κόστος των μελλοντικών της επενδύσεων για ακίνητα, εγκαταστάσεις και εξοπλισμό το 2016 από τα 13 στα 12 δισ. ευρώ. Ο όμιλος, όπως δήλωσε ο Matthias Müller, CEO και πρόεδρος του διοικητικού συμβουλίου της Volkswagen, θα δώσει προτεραιότητα μόνο στις αυστηρά προγραμματισμένες επενδύσεις και δαπάνες, αφού ότι δεν είναι απολύτως απαραίτητο θα ακυρωθεί ή θα αναβληθεί. Το νέο κέντρο σχεδίασης στο Wolfsburg έχει τεθεί σε αναμονή, εξοικονομώντας περίπου 100 εκατομμύρια ευρώ, το νέο βαφείο στο Μεξικό επανεξετάζεται, ενώ καθυστερεί το νέο Phaeton το οποίο θα είναι διαθέσιμο ως αμιγώς ηλεκτρικό.
Η VW ωστόσο δεν θέλει να μείνει πίσω στους τομείς του e-mobility και της ψηφιοποίησης και έτσι θα αυξήσει τις επενδύσεις της στα 100 εκατ. ευρώ μέσα στο 2016 για την έρευνα και ανάπτυξη εναλλακτικών τεχνολογιών κίνησης, δίνοντας βάση στα ηλεκτρικά συστήματα κίνησης για τα μοντέλα της VW, της Audi και της Porsche. Ο Muller είπε:
Εμείς θα επανεξετάσουμε και ενδεχομένως να ακυρώσουμε ή να αναστείλουμε περαιτέρω δαπάνες, χωρίς να μπαίνει σε ρίσκο το βιώσιμο μέλλον μας, Μαζί με τους εκπροσώπους του συμβουλίου θα καταβάλουμε κάθε δυνατή προσπάθεια για να κρατήσουμε τον πυρήνα του εργατικού δυναμικού.
Οι κοινοπραξίες στην Κίνα δεν ενοποιούνται και ως εκ τούτου δεν συμπεριλαμβάνονται στα παραπάνω ποσά. Αυτές οι εταιρείες θα διατηρήσουν τα επίπεδα των επενδύσεων που είχαν ανακοινωθεί προηγουμένως, ποσό που φτάνει τα 4,4 δισεκατομμύρια ευρώ το 2016, με τις επενδύσεις αυτές να χρηματοδοτούνται από ίδια κεφάλαια των κινέζικων κοινοπραξιών.
Τέλος το VW Group ανακοίνωσε πως ο 66χρονος Dr. Horst Neumann ο επικεφαλής Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού βγαίνει στη σύνταξη, με τους Jörg Hofmann και d Johan Järvklo να γίνονται μέλη στο εποπτικό συμβούλιο της VW. Ο αντικαταστάτης του Neumann θα ανακοινωθεί μέσα στις επόμενες εβδομάδες.
Για να διαβάσεις τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις σχετικά με το σκάνδαλο της Volkswagen πάτησε εδώ.
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Volkswagen Group reduces level of capex
• CEO Matthias Müller: “We will strictly prioritize all investments and expenditures”
• Even greater focus on alternative drive technologies and digitalization
The Volkswagen Group is aligning investment activity in its Automotive Division with the current situation. The aim is for planned investments in property, plant and equipment, investment property and intangible assets, excluding capitalized development costs (capex), to be capped at approximately EUR 12 billion next year. The average figure for the previous planning period was about EUR 13 billion per year.
“We are operating in uncertain and volatile times and are responding to this”, said Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, in Wolfsburg on Friday, after a regular meeting of the Company’s Supervisory Board. “We will strictly prioritize all planned investments and expenditures. As announced, anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed.”
In this context, Müller announced the intention to increase expenditure on alternative drive technologies by approximately EUR 100 million next year. “We are not going to make the mistake of economizing on our future. For this reason we are planning to further increase spending on the development of e-mobility and digitalization”, he said. The core focus will be on rapidly developing electric drive systems for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi and Porsche brands.
Most of the capex is earmarked for new products, the continuing rollout and enhancement of the modular toolkits, and the completion of ongoing investments to expand capacity. Examples include product start-ups such as the next-generation Golf, the Audi Q5, the new Crafter plant in Poland, as well as upfront expenditures for the modular electric toolkit (MEB). Approximately 50 percent of capex will be spent on the Group’s 28 locations in Germany.
Müller also outlined the first projects as examples where investments are being spread out to a greater extent or cut back. For example, construction of the planned new design center in Wolfsburg is being put on hold, saving approximately EUR 100 million. In addition, the construction of a paint shop in Mexico will be reviewed. In the model range, the successor to the Phaeton – a pure-play electric model – is being delayed. “We will review and potentially cancel further expenditures or spread them out to a greater extent in the next few weeks, but without putting our future viability at risk”, explained Müller. He added: “Together with the works council representatives we will make every effort to keep our core workforce on board.”
The joint ventures in China are not consolidated and are therefore not included in the above figures. These companies will maintain their previously announced investment levels and are planning expenditures in the amount of approximately EUR 4.4 billion in 2016. These investments will be financed from the joint ventures’ own funds.
Board member for Human Resources Dr. Horst Neumann retires
• CEO Matthias Müller temporarily assumes responsibility for Human Resources
The member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Human Resources, Dr. Horst Neumann (66), retires with effect from November 30, 2015. The Supervisory Board expects to name his successor shortly. In the intervening period the CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Matthias Müller, will temporarily assume responsibility for Human Resources and Organization.
The Supervisory Board, the Board or Management and the Group Works Council thank Neumann for his unstinting commitment to safeguarding jobs and increasing productivity, to personnel development and enhancing employer attractiveness.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Hans Dieter Pötsch, paid tribute to Neumann’s achievements, saying: “Dr. Horst Neumann has played an instrumental role in the positive development of the Volkswagen Group over the past ten years. This began in 2006 with the collective agreement for the future which Dr. Neumann negotiated with the Works Council very soon after he had assumed responsibility for Human Resources. This agreement reestablished competitiveness at Volkswagen AG in terms of productivity and labor costs, introduced performance incentives for employees covered by collective bargaining, and has allowed the workforce to participate in the company’s success ever since. Dr. Neumann sets great store by the high specialist competence of employees, good work and secure jobs. His guiding principle has therefore always been that competitiveness and job security are two sides of the same coin.”
The Chairman of the Volkswagen Group Works Council, Bernd Osterloh, said: “As employee representatives, we have come to know Dr. Neumann as a straightforward and fair negotiating partner. When opinions differ he takes a hard line, but he never closes the door on a fair balance of interests. Without Dr. Neumann the difficult collective agreement negotiations of 2006 would never have culminated in a good result. This agreement is the foundation for secure jobs and competitiveness at the core brand. Once he had achieved that, Dr. Neumann set about realigning personnel development at Volkswagen and making the company a top employer.”
Jörg Hofmann and Johan Järvklo new members of Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board
• Berthold Huber and Hartmut Meine step down from the executive body
Upon application by the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG, Mr. Jörg Hofmann (59), First Chairman of IG Metall, and Mr. Johan Järvklo (42), Representative of the Swedish Metal Workers’ Union at Scania, were appointed members of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG by Braunschweig Local Court – Hofmann effective November 20, 2015, Järvklo effective November 22, 2015. The appointments were made pursuant to Section 104 of the Aktiengesetz (German Stock Corporation Act) and were occasioned by the recent resignations of Mr. Berthold Huber (65) and Mr. Hartmut Meine (63), who laid down their mandates on the Supervisory Board with due notice.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, Hans Dieter Pötsch, thanked the departing Supervisory Board members for so many years of service on the executive body. He extended special thanks to Berthold Huber, who held the office of interim Chairman of the Supervisory Board for several months this year: “Mr. Berthold Huber shouldered great responsibility during a critical phase and helped to strengthen our company. He brought the full weight of his experience and authority to bear in the service of our Company. We are particularly grateful to him for that.”
Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, who is a member of the Executive Committee and a representative of the family shareholders on the Supervisory Board, underscored: “As Chairman of IG Metall, Berthold Huber was instrumental in developing innovative and flexible collective agreements that safeguarded jobs in German industry without compromising the competitiveness of companies. He was a resolute negotiating partner, always willing to compromise, free from ideology and therefore respected by all. More than once, he displayed courage in critical situations and assumed personal responsibility. On behalf of the shareholders I would like to express our warm appreciation of that. For me, he has always been a moral role model.”
Bernd Osterloh, member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the General and Group Works Councils of Volkswagen AG, said: “I have known Berthold Huber for almost 30 years. I have always respected him as someone who is a good listener and a fair sparring partner, willing to search for the right decisions. That has proved particularly valuable during the past difficult weeks. Berthold Huber has played a key role for Volkswagen and for our colleagues. I would like to express my sincere thanks for that. I am sure he will continue to support us in future. His successor is Jörg Hofmann, the new First Chairman of IG Metall, who has agreed to join Europe’s largest automaker. The appointment of Johan Järvklo from Sweden sends a clear signal that as employee representatives we feel it is important to give our colleagues from international locations the opportunity to participate in the highest executive body.”
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