VW CEO Herbert Diess’ ambitions for an electric future could cost him his job

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has not been one to shy away from the fact the German automaker needs to reimagine itself in order to stay competitive in a future made up of electric vehicles (EVs).

Most recently Diess invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be a surprise guest at a meeting with over 200 VW executives last month.

The meeting came just a few days after Diess warned that if they delay their transition to EV, it could cost the company as many as 30,000 jobs.

That admission, along with his public acknowledgment of the threat Elon Musk and Tesla poses to legacy automakers, does not apparently sit well with some inside VW.

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According to a report by Automotive News Europe, a specially convened VW Group mediation committee will soon be discussing his future with the automaker.

The group is made of a number of high ranking officials, board members and representatives from its work council.

The mediation committee consists of Hans Dieter Poetsch, supervisory board chairman and CEO of Volkswagen’s largest shareholder, Porsche SE; Stephan Weil, state premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, which owns a fifth of the voting rights in VW; works council leader Daniela Cavallo; and Joerg Hofmann, head of Germany’s largest trade union, IG Metall.

Sources who spoke with Automotive News about the meeting could not confirm when the meeting would take place, but said the results would be made public at the appropriate time.

VW CEO Herbert Diess gets his turn behind the wheel of a Tesla Model Y

Source: Automotive News Europe