Herbert Diess he should have been CEO of the Volkswagen group until 2025. But due to a series of unfavorable evolutions within the board of directors, today he is on foot. He will be replaced by Porsche CEO Oliver Blumecertainly endowed with a different, more conservative personality than his predecessor. But how did it get to this point? Let’s see the most important and most recent stages of Diess’s fall, certainly important news for the whole sector.
According to the Automotive News reconstruction, the decision to remove Diess from the privilege of the position of CEO took place during a trip to the United States. Everything would be decided in a week, even considering that the manager had had disagreements with the rest of the Board of Directors in the past. On July 16, some members of the Council of the Wolfsburg automotive group had begun to discuss the possibility of replacing Diess, who had just left for the United States; on the 20th, after long negotiations, the board had decided to proceed, evaluating Blume as a successor. On July 21, Diess was informed of the decision, with a time frame of 24 hours to respond or comment. The former executive has chosen silence. Finally, on 22 July, the decisive vote took place.
The reasons they would be different, net of the character differences between Blume and Diess, the latter more inclined to show himself also on social media to talk about the company. First of all, Diess has quarreled several times with the labor unions, who put him under pressure in order to obtain better results as well as greater employment certainties. The shareholders, especially the most powerful families such as Porsche – Piëch they didn’t appreciate certain outings. But, above all, there have been some failed projects capable of cracking trust.
In particular, the delay in developing the software for electric and electrified cars was too large, even considering that Diess had really pushed hard to bring the culture of battery-powered vehicles within the group. Basically, the strategic plan was clear, but its implementation in recent years would not have lived up to expectations. Among other things, Diess had already been relieved of some tasks related to electrification; since last December he had had less chance of intervening on the CARIAD project, without any improvement on the quality of work. So much so that several models, including Audi and Porsche, have been postponed.
Diess will still have one month to manage current affairs and prepare Blume’s entry in his place. Volkswagen will have to pay for this decision: specifically, his salary. Until 2025. Depending on Volkswagen results, the figure could be around 30 million euros.
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