Autobauer: Ministerpräsident Lies: VW stand vor „Eskalation“ um Volkswagen-Gesetz
Niedersachsens Landeschef, der auch im VW-Aufsichtsrat sitzt, schildert, wie knapp der Konzern einem offenen Machtkampf entging – und macht dem Management eine klare Ansage.
Düsseldorf: Niedersachsen's Premier Minister Olaf Lies expressed confidence in reaching an agreement regarding the austerity package for Volkswagen, the world's largest car manufacturer, before the state assembly in Hanover on Wednesday. In a government statement, Lies warned that the Wolfsburg DAX giant faced "a path to escalation" just moments before the supervisory board meeting.
According to Lies, the company had threatened months of internal disputes and self-indulgent standstills. The looming debates concerned plant closures and employee participation - potentially including the Volkswagen Act and an extraordinary shareholders' meeting. That escalation had been averted. Niedersachsen holds a 20% share in VW's voting rights.
Lies, along with his deputy Julia Willie Hamburg from the Green party, serves on the carmaker's supervisory board. The Volkswagen Act grants the state extraordinary influence over the conglomerate, with a veto in key decisions sufficient to block resolutions, effectively giving Niedersachsen a blocking minority. Decisions on plant construction or relocation, for example, are subject to particularly high hurdles.
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