End of the Road for Pischetsrieder
In a very unexpected move, Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group will be stepping down from his position on December 31st of this year. This comes as a surprise, as Pischetsrieder had his contract extended to 2012 just a few months back. He will be replaced by Dr. Martin Winterkorn, the current CEO of VW’s luxury division, Audi.
Since taking the position in 2000, Pischetsrieder has done a lot of work to revitalize the brand. He had the tough task of cutting back tens of thousands of jobs, all while pushing labour unions to extend their working week. There are also rumors that Porsche will increase its stake in Volkswagen Group to 29.9%, up from 20%, the maximum amount that it can hold without taking the company over.