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Volkswagen in crisis: Human Resources Director Kilian surprisingly dismissed!
Gunnar Kilian is leaving Volkswagen amid job cuts and uncertainty. A look at the reasons and effects in Wolfsburg.
Volkswagen in crisis: Human Resources Director Kilian surprisingly dismissed!
Gunnar Kilian is no longer Chief Human Resources Officer at Volkswagen. This surprising personnel decision was made on Friday, July 4th and represents a significant turning point in the company's history. His place on the board, which he has held since 2018 and which made him the longest-serving member, will now be taken over on an interim basis by Thomas Schäfer. To this end, Arne Meiswinkel will be promoted to the extended group management. Prominent farewell words from Hans Dieter Pötsch, the chairman of the supervisory board, and the company boss Oliver Blume underlined the drama of the situation.
Good morning, Volkswagen employees: What leads to this sudden separation? Kilian's dismissal, which was justified by "different ideas regarding the management of investment companies", brings additional uncertainty for the workforce. The mood is tense, especially after VW announced it would cut up to 35,000 jobs by 2030. This corresponds to almost a quarter of the jobs in Germany. There are many reasons for this: rising costs, low margins in the electric segment and the slow transition to e-mobility.
Challenges for the workforce
A not insignificant part of the workforce is affected by this development. As part of the reduction program, which is intended to be designed in a socially responsible manner, 20,000 job cuts have already been planned at West German locations. This envisages serious structural changes: Up to two plants could be closed, and mandatory redundancies are not planned; instead, Volkswagen is relying on voluntary solutions such as partial retirement and termination agreements. These measures are loud Fachanwalt.de realized under the principle of “double voluntariness”.
The terms of the severance payments are clear: Volkswagen is making 900 million euros available for severance payments until 2026. The minimum amount for collectively agreed employees is set at 17,700 euros, while higher amounts for long-term employees in the upper salary groups can rise to over 400,000 euros. A new incentive to accept the offers quickly is the “turbo bonus”, which is paid out separately.
An end to a phase of life
Gunnar Kilian addressed the employees in an email to the HR department and reflected on the challenges of the last few years. He emphasizes that VW will always remain a part of him and speaks of a special phase of his life that is coming to an end. Also reported World that Kilian's earlier decisions, such as the cancellation of VW's corporate tariffs, were viewed as a "historical breach of taboo" and probably contributed significantly to the decision of the supervisory boards.
The job cuts are accompanied by discontent and uncertainty among the workforce. Works council leader Daniela Cavallo addressed the challenge of joint future planning. Another point that was raised is the unclear future of the Osnabrück site, which could be used in a similar way to an abandoned Continental factory.
Volkswagen is facing major changes. The “Future Volkswagen” strategy will continue to be pursued and aims at future-oriented technological development. The coming months will show how the switch to e-mobility and personnel issues continue to develop. It will be exciting to see what direction Volkswagen takes and how the workforce will overcome these challenges.