Volkswagen To Hold Extraordinary Board Meeting on Wednesday
German automobile company, Volkswagen (VW) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday at which finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch is expected to be appointed as new head of the 20-member controlling panel.
As well as appointing Poetsch, the board will discuss the latest findings of VW’s internal investigation which has already led to more than 10 suspensions of senior managers.
The company is facing its worst business crisis in its 78-year history after it admitted cheating diesel emissions tests in the United States, with 11 million vehicles affected worldwide.
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At an internal company meeting last week at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Poetsch described the situation as an “existence-threatening crisis for the company”
The company took out full pages in a German newspaper, replacing what it said should have been an advert celebrating the 25th anniversary of German reunification with this message: “We will do everything possible to win back your trust.”
A survey by a German market research firm showed 41 percent of consumers see the brand as damaged for the long term, while 11 percent say they no longer want to buy a VW.
With German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying she expects a limited impact on the German economy. “I believe that the reputation of the German economy, the confidence in the German economy is not so shaken that we do not continue to count as a good business location.”
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VW provided the first information on Friday allowing customers to find out if their vehicles are affected, and it needs to tell Germany’s KBA watchdog by Wednesday when and how its cars will comply with emissions standards.
The day before, new Chief Executive Matthias Mueller will have his first opportunity to explain to an expected gathering of about 20,000 workers at a closed-door factory event how he aims to steer VW out of the scandal.
