VW Officials Meet Over Probe as Crisis Hits Operations
01 Ottobre 2015 - 3:10AM
Dow Jones News
FRANKFURT—Key directors at Volkswagen AG met late into Wednesday
night to review initial findings of an internal investigation into
emissions-rigging at the car maker, as ramifications of the scandal
began hitting operations.
The company's financing unit instituted a hiring freeze in
response to the crisis that has shaken the Volkswagen group, a unit
spokesman said, to let the company weigh the aftereffects.
"We have put a hiring freeze in place until year-end as a
precautionary measure," a spokesman for Volkswagen Financial
Services AG said. The company, which acts as a lender for buyers
and dealers of Volkswagen brands, also won't extend contracts for
temporary workers.
Separately, a spokeswoman for the Volkswagen engine-production
plant in Salzgitter, Germany, said the company cut a Saturday shift
in response to developments, also as a precautionary measure.
The announcements came as Volkswagen officials gathered
Wednesday in Wolfsburg, where they reviewed the first results of an
investigation into the company's apparent attempts to dodge U.S.
emissions tests, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The officials include important shareholders and labor
representatives who belong to Volkswagen's supervisory board.
U.S. environmental authorities said on Sept. 18 that Europe's
largest car manufacturer intentionally installed software in some
cars that allowed the vehicles to perform better in emissions tests
than they would on the road. Volkswagen has since said the software
is installed in about 11 million vehicles world-wide, but may not
be activated in all of them.
Volkswagen has vowed to get to the bottom of the matter. Top
executives denied knowledge of the test-rigging software. The
company initiated an internal investigation and hired an outside
law firm to help. Since then, former chief executive Martin
Winterkorn has stepped down, and been replaced with Matthias Mü
ller, previously CEO at Porsche AG. Earlier Wednesday, Porsche
appointed its production chief Oliver Blume to the post of CEO.
Porsche cars aren't affected by the software scandal, Volkswagen
has said.
Volkswagen suspended managers who may have known of the software
deceit, including Heinz-Jakob Neusser, head of research and
development at Volkswagen.
There also has been speculation that the company's chief
financial officer, Hans Dieter Pö tsch , could be forced out,
though key shareholders forcefully denied that Wednesday. As yet,
Mr. Pö tsch is expected to become head of Volkswagen's supervisory
board later this year.
"The Porsche-Piech family stands firmly behind Mr. Pö tsch as
chairman of the Volkswagen supervisory board," said a spokesman for
Porsche SE, which owns the majority of Volkswagen's voting
rights.
Christopher Alessi and Friedrich Geiger contributed to this
article.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 30, 2015 20:55 ET (00:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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