Our roof is on fire and we have to stop spending money on nonsense, says the head of the company, Thomas Schaefer
Volkswagen is in a very difficult situation and the coming months will be of vital importance for the German manufacturer. This was stated by CEO Thomas Schaefer during an internal meeting with 2,000 managers at the company, Wards Auto claims.
“Things are not going well and everything is at stake. Times are very tough and we need to stop spending money on nonsense. We have tough weeks and months ahead, where every small victory can be of huge importance,” Schaefer told his subordinates.
According to Schaefer, the main task before Volkswagen is to save 10 billion euros in the next 3 years. For this purpose, the company is introducing a series of “efficiency programs” that will lead to serious cost reductions.
“Our roof is on fire right now because we have allowed ourselves to spend too much money in various areas in recent years. Our problems are due to structures and processes that are too complex, slow and inflexible. We have to be a team where everyone works together. That’s the only way we’ll get out of the difficult situation,” Schaefer is emphatic.
The Volkswagen chief’s statements come amid the company’s controversial results. It quadrupled sales of its ID.4 electric crossover in the US compared to last year, when only 6,690 units of the model were sold. At the same time, however, part of the plant in Emden (Germany) stopped working for 6 weeks precisely because of the low demand for the electric car.
At the same time, sales in a key market, China, fell to some of the lowest levels in history, forcing Volkswagen to drop prices on most of its models. This allows the company to remain competitive, but also sharply reduces profit margins.
Schaefer’s concerns were echoed by the company’s CFO Patrick Andreas Mayer, who said “the problems at Volkswagen are far deeper than what is visible on the surface.” At the meeting with the managers, he stated that “the car sales business is not going well and the situation is critical, and this is the last chance to get out.”
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2023-07-16 05:30:23
#Volkswagen #admits
