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VW and Tesla were supposed to be the two EV winners. And then VW released substandard, expensive cars with faulty software. Their previous CEO knew they had to do things differently and so was fired.
Their ceo released substandard expensive cars with bad software and he was fired for this. Now the management has to clean the mess Winterkorn and Diess created
@@zoransarin5411 it happened under his reign. He promised changes and failed to deliver. Saying lofty words doesn't help if you fail to deliver. Everyone understands in German car industry that evs are future. VW has invested tens of billions in ev research and production.
The fact CEO's make no real sacrifice in their own personal bonus and incomes but expect it of people far less able to absorb any reduction in wages needs to be talked about far far more
I believe from the articles I have seen this is across the board with 10 % including CEO and no bonuses. Still the union says no plant closures... Do the understand if they do not do this no one will have a job? Its like the just told everyone the are on life support and workers don't get it. I'm not saying management and leadership didn't screw up but without cuts they are doomed.. probably won't help anyway, it's too little too late. HD tried to warn them before they fired him but Porsche and the union control too much of the company. *RIP VWg sold them their old platform and it will not compete in the Chinese market even with that.
Talk, talk talk that’s all you people ever want to do! You never want to fix the underlying problem of anything in German Society. Anytime you have the inmates (workers) running the asylum you are destined for major problems. VW has to downsize, immediately. They have too many workers and too many auto plants for their shrinking markets.
There’s no reason for workers to take pay cuts until the leadership takes a roughly 80% pay cut, freeze on bonuses for a few years, cut spending like private jets and luxury “meetings”.
The system should be changed to give the CEO a fixed monthly salary. Only when their term in office ends then the board should assess how well the companies financial performance has fared under the CEO in question before deciding if a bonus is deserved or not. Those who fail should not be rewarded with bonuses and share options. Currently shareholders votes are non binding and that needs to be changed.
Paycuts from management or banning „luxiry“ meetings wouldn’t affect the financial results or profitability outlook of the company. Paycuts for 100,000 workers would. These symbolic demands bring absolutely nothing to remedy the problems they have. Nobody from the unions stopped to think for a second how and why they were getting away with salaries way way above the average in Germany. But now management has to „suffer“ to make them feel better?
After Dieselgate, I have NO sympathy for VW. I also have no sympathy for the union which thinks striking will improve the future of the company. There’s no point in making more cars than you can sell.
Diesel gate was just bs. Ti fast track the removal of diesel engines. Or it'd be too hard as diesel engines are more efficient and cleaner than petrol engines and diesel is a waste oil so cleans the environment as well. Where as batteries don't clean the environment or remove any waste products
Well the union knows that VW doesn't have a future operating the same way it does today, so why would they take a pay cut now, knowing that their jobs will end in two or three years anyway and management aren't going to cut their salaries or cut dividends to shareholders?
@@skasteve6528 I agree that the managers and especially the CEO should take a major salary cut, and I agree that no dividends (or a very small amount) should be paid. But if VW can close some of their plants, a reduced company may be able to survive, and some jobs will remain. If they continue on the current path, there may be NO jobs in a few years.
The incompetence of senior management and the members of the Board of Directors is staggering. And the news flash is that many other legacy carmakers are just around the corner who are facing the same challenges. Idiots, all of them. I have no sympathy for them except for many of the workers who are going to lose their jobs very soon.
The former CEO said then The company had to restructure, become more efficient. The Union representatives on the VW board had him fired. Both sides are to blame for this mess! 🇨🇦
But it took rivian to fix your problems. I'm gen x and feel your pain with dealing with gen z but banning gas cars 5 years ago would have meant failing 5 years ago, when there was less infrastructure. Why rushing to make a company fail? Why make them so overly complicated? What are you planning on doing with Lamborghini?
@@larryc1616 Nokia and Kodak are both doing fine., So killed probably isn't the word you should have used. I can't speak for Kodak, but at Nokia, some management mistakes were made (Many could only be seen to be mistakes with hindsight). Losses resulted. Parts of the business were sold. Management was changed and a change of strategy was enacted. It's still a profitable company. VW's situation is different. They had a CEO who correctly identified the changes coming in the auto industry and highlighted the sort of actions that needed to take place. So they fired him and buried their heads in the sand.
And then it goes to Saudi or Chinese companies then we lose factories, history and economy again to the point we don’t have ownership or jobs then towns county’s and the country gets closer to poverty
@@bigblivin9722So the only option is to close the factory... problem with Germany's high cost specially energy, who's gonna buy it? Arabs and Chinese are not idiots.
10% pay cut 2 years ago, 10% pay cut last year, 10% pay cut this year, 10% pay cut next year... Pretty soon you're working and making what you're making now.
@@monkeysuncle2816 If layoffs are inevitable and redundancy payments are based on your salary I can understand why workers want to maintain their salary to the end.
Rivian is fixing the problems VW has had with computer modules and software systems integration. Rivian took an Audi E-tron and converted it over to Rivian modules and software in 3 months. VW management and engineers were floored. This is how the deal with Rivian came to be. Rivian engineers did in 3 months what VW engineers could not do at all in years.
@@WillieFungo It’s just business, and I’m cool with it. VW still makes durable cars, even if they’re behind on innovation. Rivian, on the other hand, really needs this-they’ve been in financial trouble, and this partnership could be the boost they need to steady things. Smart move for both sides!
@@HullioGQ No, Rivian is giving away their economic moat. It would be better to wait out VW's collapse and try and take their market share. Software is the only advantage next-gen automakers have over the incumbents.
@@WillieFungo VW’s $44B market cap still overshadows Rivian’s $12B, but VW isn’t without challenges. Even with plant closures in China and declining profits there, VW's established global presence and steady revenue streams give them a far better chance of weathering financial storms than Rivian, which continues burning cash. A VW buyout of Rivian within the next 12-18 months still seems like a plausible move to boost their EV ambitions.
I bought one and it had nothing but problems then swapped it for a Chinese car and it's way more reliable and costs me far less. I really cannot see these German automakers surviving at all. They are pumping out ovepriced trash.
The writing has been on the wall for 25 years where all of the car industry needed to go. There is nothing new that the government did or released that was not known for that whole time. The government has simply ratched up the Euro standards every few years to set the path from point A (100% ICE) to point B (100% emissions free). This is not the fault of government, after all the mandate for climate action comes from the people electing them. This is 100% the fault of the automakers, who have fought each step of the way and undertaken the absolute minimum required every step of the way. VW was different when lead by Deiss. He saw the future and tried to steer VW in the same direction that world governments were going. He constantly benchmarked against the EV leader, Tesla. But when he was removed and replaced by a petrol head, and the company pivotted back to ICE and hybrids, therin lies their current problem. That and not seeing the rise and rise of China, where VW gets 50% of its profits.
This isn't the fault of the government. The management knew this was coming and did very little about it. You can't blame the government for the bad management at the top of the company.
@@zoransarin5411 The real culprit here is the Chinese Government, giving subsidies to Chinese Manufacturers and rebates to Chineses Citizens to buy Chinese cars EV's, so that foreign Companies like VW can no longer be competitive in the Chinese market. VW is now faced with the prospect of losing 50% of its profits and has to rely on other markets that have much higher labor and manufacturing costs, and thus lower profits. The increased cost has been caused, partly, by the German and other Euro Governments obsession with net zero, and the increase in power costs that, that direction has taken things. With high wages and high power costs, and low, if any, profits, VW has no choice but to get out of manufacturing in Germany.
@@zoransarin5411 The Government forced the Change to EVs AND they caused the CO2 taxes. There is no Reason for Germany to do anything about climate change because Germany will benefit from it.
Looking at the financial numbers and the sales numbers, even if the workers took a 10% pay cut and shut down three plants, this company would still be in trouble. Investments in plant and equipments and future model development are sunk investment costs with large borrowing debts that can only be recovered with sufficient volumes over time. They have massive debts and volumes are declining, the financial numbers say it all. I do believe the first steps will be to sell off their Luxury brands, close more plants, and increase ventures with Chinese companies .
I'm sorry, but as an American automotive repair tech, that dispise German automotive engineering, I can't help but laugh my bottom off🤣 They did this to themselves. Overpriced, over engineered, and now the ev push, absolutely caused this on themselves
@@mrbig7718 No economist is willing to predict a turning point (as a rule). But, barring something very extraordinary, eighteen months from now at least one US automaker will be either in Chapter 11 or being bailed out. Also, the math says that even Americans will switch to EVs, despite the efforts of the fossil fuel industry.
We should probably stop using the term "labour cost" and just call it "production cost". The production cost in China is lower due to a combination of factors: streamlined regulations, streamlined supply chain, government policies aligned with industry, lower cost of living meaning no need for higher salaries.
I work for a car manufacturer in the UK. In 2017 said manufacturer was opening a plant in China so we had a group of Chinese workers come over to see how we operated over in the UK. I asked one of the lads who came over from China how much they were getting paid. Shockingly he said £400 a month. I pick up double that in a week after tax. No wonder companies were scrambling to open plants in China. 😂
@@dave.1981China's economy is structured in a way that keeps the rmb low and the cost of living very low. And because critical production is publicly owned its resiliant to external market fluctuations and immune to profit motivated interests. Smart.
A major factor is low power costs, because China didn't just bow down to climate activists and shut down their cheap power producing plants. It's all very well to want a clean and C02 free environment, but tripling and in some countries, quadrupling power prices over a decade is just a recipe for economic suicide, and Germany is on suicide watch, factor in already high wages and the Chinese Government making it very difficult for foreign car Co's to compete with the local car Co's with subsidies and rebates, and you don't need an economics degree to see why VW is in the poo.
@SaintKimbo China has a hugely diverse energy grid focused on renewables first and phasing out fossil fuels in favour of nuclear/solar/wind, augmented by gas. I think your idea of the Chinese energy situation is way out of date.
You are so right about VW. My wife used to work for these guys at a high level. They let go the people with knowledge and experience to keep themselves from looking bad and making positive change. . It’s catching up with them now. Too bad. Such a great brand that they let degrade.
The country and the company have done so many things wrong that it will be the subject of books to come. Best thing management could do is declare bankruptcy, reorganize with a tenth of the workforce, sell the premium units off, find a Chinese purchaser. It's not possible to sand down a rotten log enough to make furniture.
In the past, a Chinese company might have bought a brand at a knock down price, to enable them to sell in a western country. That ship has sailed long ago.
As a VW owner since 98 lmao I tend do disagree. I’ve had hardly any major issues over the years. Always drove GTIs and Rs so I think thry look better than most cars, hold up better too
Shipbuilding has all but disappeared from Europe. The Automotive sector will likely go the same way for very similar reason - costs and labour relations.
Dear VW employees, take the pay cut or find a job elsewhere. And in a few months there will be mass layoffs anyway and most will loose their jobs at VW, worldwide.
We sold our Volkswagen last week. Bought another makers. Partly because we don’t believe they will keep their value plus hard to get service at a reasonable price.
So all workers take a 10% pay cut. The average worker can no longer pay their health insurance or house payments. The CEO loses 3 of his 30 millions. So he does not even notice.
The senior management of VW is to blame. Management underestimated the disruptive effect of government sponsored EV revolution. The management responsoble for developing the EV vehicle should be fired. Now if i was CEO i would shut all plants until the union dispute is settled.
That's what VW gets for sitting on their laurels . They have done that since 1999. Very small improvements here and there while everyone else was leaving them behind in luxury, features, LED lighting, not giving Americans the same features on the European versions of VW models. With all the money they had, VW could have made a really bold move to be real trail-blazers in the EV field, but a tiny American start up, Tesla, just ate VW's breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Respectfully & Seriously led lights are toxic to human eyes (think brain) Ask Doctor Jack Kruse. Sue any employer that installs led lighting at work, class action.
The Executives annual salaries may not come close... They should be required to dip I to their savings, which should be considerable, given their high salaries. The decision to allow the Company to fall so far behind (and resist) the transition to EVs is not down to the Workers.
Don’t blame the workers. Sure - they want to protect their position and their demand for a pay rise seems baffling, but it reflects the cost of living in Germany. The real issue here is that VW execs have failed to adapt to the changing market. They backed ‘clean diesel’ to the death and waited too long to develop good EVs. Their real profitability has been obscured for years by selling so-called premium ICE cars in China, but now the Chinese don’t want them. They are producing better and more affordable cars themselves, highlighting that VW’s product is both antiquated and overpriced.
Please stop talking nonsense. VW and other foreign car makers are being FORCED out of the Chinese market by the Chinese Government giving handouts to the Chinese manufacturers and subsidies to Chinese Consumers who buy Chinese EV's, no one can compete with that, no matter how good your cars are. This is just going to, and already is, start a tariff war between China and the rest of the world. Do you really think that Germany and other car producing countries are just going to let China sell their Government subsidized cars at prices that are going to destroy their car and associated industries, after the Chinese Government made it UNPROFITABLE for their own manufacturers to produce in China?
In Germany, Tesla somehow seems to be doing just fine. I saw a VW video a couple of years ago showing their production line. It was like watching someone wading through glue! so frustrating, come on guys, just get a move on. How many people does it take to fit a wiring harness? 4 by the looks of it, one doing most of the work and the other 3 supervising etc. The harness itself was a monster compared to the Tesla one by the way. No wonder Tesla can make a car in one third the time VW can.
The VW CEO and C-suite officers made a lot of financial bets, seems to have lost, and they want the union to pay for it. Obviously there are other issues with the problems, but the C-suite executives should take similar or larger salary hits and layoffs since the crisis seems to have originated there. Obviously cuts to C--suits bonus/salaries will not be enough to solve the problem, but they should lead by sharing the pain. In 2023, Oliver Blume is estimated to have made around €8.7 million, and the Board of Directors receive a salary of €15 million each. Maybe they should be laid off. I think the "bloating" starts at the top.
Not only Volkswagen , but also other big companies will go bankrupt in Germany. Instead of supporting wars in the world, they would have done a better thing if they had helped their own companies and provided financial support to their citizens.
How much socialism can you handle? I hear former East Germans missing "the good old days" where the State led everyone by the nose everywhere, and you had little choice.
Sam, I looked this up. Median wage for a union member at VW in Germany. 62 Euros per hour. Tesla pays its production workers in Germany about $20 per hour, but gives 30 days paid vacation. Median wage for production line worker at BYD in China is $4.20 to $9.00 with most at the lower end. Tesla pays about $9.00/hr in China with some overtime. Free meals and transportation. VW data in China are opaque but it's less than $20 an hour. There is no way VW Germany can compete pay 62 Euros while BYD is paying $4 or $6 or whatever in China and making better cars. The IG Metall union workers are going to bankrupt VW. They can't compete with Tesla in Germany either. I think VW is doomed.
To show a spirit of shared sacrifice, cut all compensation down to the median worker's wages (the executive suite also). But those greedy narcisists at the top never will. Last years 8 figure salary must be maintained for them.
Hey, sorry for saying this. The problem is not VW as a brand. The issue is how the German culture is. Running a company today means being fast, agile and adding value to the customers. Again sorry, this is not within the German DNA at all today. I have been working and exposed to the German DNA for 20+ years now as a foreigner, and his is not simply the culture. It is rather stiff, extremely formal, slow and no value add thinking at all. That is the problem according to me. Please change the mindset German people, otherwise you are screwed. Cheers and love you!
This trend is not unique to Volkswagen or Germany, as many developed countries face similar challenges. Unfortunately, the United States, in particular, shares a similar story in labor and auto manufacturing.
Changing a company this much is very difficult and maybe it would have been easier to start again with a sub brand which gradually takes over the parent. I think this is what Deiss was trying to do with ID but he didn’t get the support
I understand where you are coming from. In this case, it is the German auto industry as a whole rather than a specific brand that is going to have problems. The traits you've commented on aren't specific to Germanic people (I'm including the other Germanic countries here, including England), The Japanese have similar characteristics (reserved, formal, slow to jump onto the latest fad), which can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Interestingly, the Chinese and Koreans have similar characteristics. Perhaps it is the people who aren't like this, who are the outliers.
As you said VW makes a lose on every EV they sell. So, I blame investments in EVs. Cost too much and no reasonable person wants one. Hybrids are acceptable that's why it's sales are growing.
lmao...the demise of the existing automakers, as we are now seeing with VW and Nissan, and many more to follow, is because they are NOT sufficiently pursuing EVs. Not the other way around. If EVs, and the investment in EVs is the problem that you think it is, explain why the biggest automaker in the world by market capitalisation is Tesla, a 100% EV maker. Shares in Tesla are currently going through the roof. They have no debt like VW and Yoyota ($339 billion and $398 billion respectively), are sitting on a pile of cash, and selling all their EVs at profit.
you are kidding of course! ask Tesla, a lot of 'reasonable people' buy them it seems. The only reason hybrids are acceptable now is because of the latest trendy knee-jerk perceived lack of range and charging options. In 5 years, full evs will be the norm, the reason - all the tech including batteries will be way ahead of what ice vehicles will offer. You cannot charge your diesel from home no matter how big it is, but it is possible to charge your ev from home if you have the room. Also, ev companies are now offering up to 10 year warranties, how many ice cars can match that?
my favourite sports team is still sponsored by VW, I wrote to them almost 2 years ago and said VW are screwed run, they have since extended the VW sponsorship deal, very few of us understand what is happening and we have understood for a while now, it's so bloody obvious but apparently not to the suits, tip of the hat to you Viking, I've literally been laughed at with my legacy auto collapse predictions and I bet not one of those laughing at me for a couple years now will give me any credit whatsoever. I've been all in on Tesla for 2 years already, and not because of cars 💥
Diess was fired in disgust for doing the right thing. All involved in that decision must now be fired immediately. In HR, in the labor union, in the senior leadership.
Well the union did propse pay cuts for their members (totaling about 1.5 billion euros ) back in November, provided VW could guarantee that the future of all Volkswagen’s German factories would be safe, along with job security guarantees. They also proposed that senior management forfeit their bonuses. VW couldn't agree to this as they know that plant closures are inevitable
They should be taking a lot more than they are asking the workers. 10% of millions is meaningless and the ceo won't notice the difference. Whereas the workers will notice their 10 % cut.
@@JohnSmith-ux3tt And? The total compensation of all the workers combined is like 100x more than the CEO's salary. Plus it's harder to find a good CEO who has experience with the company's operations.
Thanks - love that, “If you’re a VW fan, unsubscribe and stick your head in the sand!” I have a friend like that- VW can do no wrong as far as he’s concerned. However that’s nothing new, he said the same just when we all found out about dieselgate. (Bashing head against wall! 🤪)
The management DID see it coming. Carl Diess (the CEO) kept loudly saying "we need a total restructure and focus solely on EVs or the Chinese are gonna cream us in world markets". For which the board sacked him in 2022. A lot of the commenters here just focus on the US market but it is the other 85% of world sales, where the Chinese are indeed creaming them, that actually matters to VW. They could pull out of the US tomorrow and be OK but if they lose Asian markets, as they are, they're toast.
I always loved VW but after diesel gate? Then they fired Dietz (spelling?), a CEO who knew what was coming and what had to be done. Add to this, I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind much of the negative propaganda and vandalism toward the Berlin giga factory.
Wow, great conclusion but frankly speaking complete bullshit. Tesla in Berlin is doing great. Why, why. Its lacking innovation, complacency and more moaning 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Largesse in Germany factories is rife. Australia lost their manufacturing for same reason, Britain before that. Lack of investment, lazy middle management, uninterested shop floor, terrible man hours per vehicle. Overlong holidays, sickness benefits...the list goes on.
I had a few friends who worked at Holden in Brisbane, same crap, strikes for any pathetic thing, just went for anything they could get at the time, but the cars they put out were rubbish, I sold my Belmont, too many things falling off plus it used to 'whistle' as it went, if I wanted a radio, it had to buy a 'special' . My mates Datsun 1600 had everything included, and it was stock standard!
A rewrite of history here mate. Holden closed because in the early 2000s GM made a strategic decision to pull out of all RHD markets - they just bullshitted about it in Australia to keep getting those government subsidies. They also shut up shop in the UK, SA, India and Thailand.
I’ve seen this before a big companies where they drop like this. And then all of a sudden they buy more stocks and they go up the hell with them. Kinda like a game for the rest of the world.
Sell! Retail investors can get out quicker than government institutional players. Run! Think Nokia, Kodak, Video rental stores. Milk co-operatives. This is the end because of technology. Not because of bad executive management or bad workers.
Union always think they are the boss. They are not owners. The boss should have the right to layoff workers for any reason with 2 or 3 months compensation. If employees don't like it, go be a boss.
Nature abhors a vacuum. When a company's management isn't fulfilling it's role properly, someone else will fill that vacuum. It will either be private equity sharks, the unions or the government. In all scenarios, it won't go well for the company.
@@TerryHickey-xt4mf Because young Chinese consumers do not like so-called luxury cars with a long history. In fact, these European brands heavily rely on the Chinese market.
If an automotive company wants to stay in the game and crush it, they’ve got to set up a big HQ in Silicon Valley and bring in the top software and AI talent.
Investing in areas where you are not good at is not always successful. Northvolt holds orders worth billions of dollars but is unable to deliver them, this is a real occurrence.
I have ordered a new VW Golf in August this year. Still waiting for the delivery. But I'm an EV fan. I wanted to order a Tesla but VW had options more in line with my needs. In my country I feel like it's a bit too early for EVs. Not enough charging stations, prices too high, not enough selling and repair centers. So for a few years I'll stick with my hybrid VW and my next car will be an EV.
You suffer the same problem as the VW executives. Wait, wait wait and watch the residual value of your shit car!! VW track record shows the eay they did handle diesel gate. Corrupt till the bones!! Just accept the world is changing faster . 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
As VWAG owner and fan I appreciate this video. It is well researched, direct and honest commentary and unbiased (seemingly). My two cents on the situation is everyone needs to sacrifice and compromise from the board members to the employees. And my observation from the reaction/actions taken by both is that it’s not about the company it’s about looking after themselves, which I can understand from both perspectives but is only going to hurt the country if there’s no resolution.
People in China like VW becuse they have been in China for a long time. I remember a time when every taxi in Shanghai was a VW Jetta. Many people, have fond memories of owning a trusty old VW but their EVs are just not very good. Even if they have the Xpeng platform now, why buy a VW not an Xpeng?
This year, China has only sold several thousand cars in Europe. It is unreasonable to attribute VW's own mistakes to these thousands of Chinese cars. Launching a trade war with China will only make VW more difficult in China.
The government will bail them out, as always. That's the thing with these big companies that are "too big to fail." It's the same with banks. CEOs don't even care as much about making sound business decisions anymore, because why bother if they'll just get bailed out anyway?
what would the Chinese offer for /pay for , say, brands Skoda , SEAT, Lamborghini? 10 Bn in total or 5.5% of the debt burden ? correct t me if I am far off
Chinese auto makers don't need those brand names. They are already exporting thousands of ev,s to Europe without using those brand names. Better to put those profits into developing better electric motors and batteries for future models.
The Electric Viking is spot on💯. This is the go to channel for automotive investors. Hoping your wife is ok my friend. Made $$$ listing to this channel. Shorted this stock based on your research. Made $$$$ on your reporting. Bless your boys mate.
That price 244 was from share buy backs from 0% interest rate from European Union. The old saying already says that, you crop what you plant and Vw did awfull during Covid times , no investment whatsoever and just throwing away money for the board and shareholders
EV sales for the past few years are as follows: 2020 - 2.98 million sold 2021 - 6.6 million sold 2022 - 10.4 million sold 2023 - 13.9 million sold 2024 - 16.7 million sold (estimated based on first 11 months sales) I showed my donkey these numbers and my donkey said "yep, EV sales are definitiely growing and not seeing less and less interest". I would suggest you get a donkey to help you with more intelligent comments
There time will come. I can't see a future for any of the German car manufacturers really, German cars are always over engineered, expensive, expensive to repair and less reliable than their Japanese contemporaries.
@@skasteve6528 a bit like their tanks in WW2 my dad told me, wonderful engineering but just not up to fighting the Ruskies on their turf in winter and so on.
You said it a couple of years ago that legacy automakers from germany and japan were ignoring China's upcoming auto regulations. Shocking how right to the end they ignored the signs.
I agree with you on all this. What is your take on how to get out of the situation for VW Group? Would it be good to just dump the prices of current cars? What would that do now and on the longer term? I would say: cancel old platforms, use gigacasting, xpeng platforms or PPE, add more standard equipment, lower prices and provide a better guarantee. My take on this is rhat it must be better to sell cars with a loss than sell no cars at all.
for this, you are right. I am a very happy VW Passat owner. But what the workers claims here is not good. VW needs to move and reduce the staff as well as the benefits. Seems that salaries and benefits are approx 20% higher than already hefty German salaries in similar industriea
During VAG's last crisis, over diesel emissions, the company whined about the cost, and threatened factory headcount reductions. The head of the union, made a very good point: why not VAG get rid of redundant divisions and vanity projects instead? Skoda and SEAT compete in the same segment as VW, so they are paying for three sets of administrative overhead, when there could be only one. Then there is the money they pour into vanity projects like Bugatti and Lamborghini. Sergio Marchionne publicly said Bugatti is the biggest waste of capital he had ever seen. Did VAG clean house? Nope. VAG has followed the same playbook at Stellantis, and Ford, with the same result. They all cut quality, and raised price, to fatten up their operating margins. VW's global warranty claims expense is now only exceeded by Ford's. They could charge premium prices, after the plague, by working the "shortage" narrative. But now, they have 100 days supply, or more, of cars sitting in storage lots, so the "shortage" narrative no longer works and customers are rejecting the high prices. So what is VAG's response? Same thing that their first choice was in their last crisis: take money away from the employees.
compare the share price of Tesla to VW. Yep, really smart to stick with ICE when the world is going EV. Buy more shares of VW Ken and watch your fortune grow
That is a sure fire fix. Continue making cars that you specifically want, even though demand is falling. Stop making cars that there is a rising demand for. Oh and whilst your at it, close some of your most productive plants. I'm sure your future tips will be more eagerly awaited than Warren Buffet's.
Means going bust within 2025. Excellent suggestion as the debt is higher as all their assets. You must belong to the monkey family as you also did forget to mention their shady diesel gate story of misleading customers.
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VW and Tesla were supposed to be the two EV winners. And then VW released substandard, expensive cars with faulty software. Their previous CEO knew they had to do things differently and so was fired.
yeah VW`s owners thought they knew best and shot the messenger (Deiss) LOL serves them right. Hope the Banks foreclose on them soon.
Their ceo released substandard expensive cars with bad software and he was fired for this. Now the management has to clean the mess Winterkorn and Diess created
@@user-nh1yb9mk7y Cariad was not the fault of Deiss, but it was used as the reason to remove him.
who said VW would be a EV winner ?
@@zoransarin5411 it happened under his reign. He promised changes and failed to deliver. Saying lofty words doesn't help if you fail to deliver. Everyone understands in German car industry that evs are future. VW has invested tens of billions in ev research and production.
The fact CEO's make no real sacrifice in their own personal bonus and incomes but expect it of people far less able to absorb any reduction in wages needs to be talked about far far more
I believe from the articles I have seen this is across the board with 10 % including CEO and no bonuses. Still the union says no plant closures... Do the understand if they do not do this no one will have a job? Its like the just told everyone the are on life support and workers don't get it. I'm not saying management and leadership didn't screw up but without cuts they are doomed.. probably won't help anyway, it's too little too late. HD tried to warn them before they fired him but Porsche and the union control too much of the company. *RIP VWg sold them their old platform and it will not compete in the Chinese market even with that.
Agree, they should lead by example
Workers are peons to those people.
Talk for what? Just fire the CEO already.
Talk, talk talk that’s all you people ever want to do! You never want to fix the underlying problem of anything in German Society. Anytime you have the inmates (workers) running the asylum you are destined for major problems. VW has to downsize, immediately. They have too many workers and too many auto plants for their shrinking markets.
I haven't even thought about a VW after they got caught lying about emissions.
The first time that they got caught? Or when they got caught cheating on the fix again?
@@svenl.3314 😂
Toyota did similarly.
@@svenl.3314 🤣
That’s most of the world I hope
There’s no reason for workers to take pay cuts until the leadership takes a roughly 80% pay cut, freeze on bonuses for a few years, cut spending like private jets and luxury “meetings”.
The system should be changed to give the CEO a fixed monthly salary. Only when their term in office ends then the board should assess how well the companies financial performance has fared under the CEO in question before deciding if a bonus is deserved or not. Those who fail should not be rewarded with bonuses and share options. Currently shareholders votes are non binding and that needs to be changed.
Paycuts from management or banning „luxiry“ meetings wouldn’t affect the financial results or profitability outlook of the company. Paycuts for 100,000 workers would. These symbolic demands bring absolutely nothing to remedy the problems they have. Nobody from the unions stopped to think for a second how and why they were getting away with salaries way way above the average in Germany. But now management has to „suffer“ to make them feel better?
then he can easily move to another company that pays $30 million - the workers can move too but likely pay less if they can find another job
After Dieselgate, I have NO sympathy for VW. I also have no sympathy for the union which thinks striking will improve the future of the company. There’s no point in making more cars than you can sell.
easier for VW to file bankruptcy protection than deal with those unions
Diesel gate was just bs.
Ti fast track the removal of diesel engines.
Or it'd be too hard as diesel engines are more efficient and cleaner than petrol engines and diesel is a waste oil so cleans the environment as well.
Where as batteries don't clean the environment or remove any waste products
Well the union knows that VW doesn't have a future operating the same way it does today, so why would they take a pay cut now, knowing that their jobs will end in two or three years anyway and management aren't going to cut their salaries or cut dividends to shareholders?
@@skasteve6528 I agree that the managers and especially the CEO should take a major salary cut, and I agree that no dividends (or a very small amount) should be paid. But if VW can close some of their plants, a reduced company may be able to survive, and some jobs will remain. If they continue on the current path, there may be NO jobs in a few years.
Unions like to destroy businesses
The incompetence of senior management and the members of the Board of Directors is staggering. And the news flash is that many other legacy carmakers are just around the corner who are facing the same challenges. Idiots, all of them. I have no sympathy for them except for many of the workers who are going to lose their jobs very soon.
The former CEO said then The company had to restructure, become more efficient. The Union representatives on the VW board had him fired. Both sides are to blame for this mess! 🇨🇦
I have no doubt that if you were the CEO of one of these companies they’d be 100% EV by now.
@juliahello6673 they would have beat jaguar to the punch and looked like fools first
But it took rivian to fix your problems. I'm gen x and feel your pain with dealing with gen z but banning gas cars 5 years ago would have meant failing 5 years ago, when there was less infrastructure. Why rushing to make a company fail? Why make them so overly complicated? What are you planning on doing with Lamborghini?
“It’s over for German manufacturing.” 💯 Labor and energy costs are too high, and regulations are onerous.
It’s about relevant products and manufacturing efficiency. Tesla is doing fine in Berlin.
Nah, EV revolution killed Legacy auto. Kodak! Nokia!
@@larryc1616 parroting much?
@@larryc1616 Nokia and Kodak are both doing fine., So killed probably isn't the word you should have used.
I can't speak for Kodak, but at Nokia, some management mistakes were made (Many could only be seen to be mistakes with hindsight). Losses resulted. Parts of the business were sold. Management was changed and a change of strategy was enacted. It's still a profitable company.
VW's situation is different. They had a CEO who correctly identified the changes coming in the auto industry and highlighted the sort of actions that needed to take place. So they fired him and buried their heads in the sand.
@@larryc1616 EV's still suck...
Sell, it is a no-brainer
And then it goes to Saudi or Chinese companies then we lose factories, history and economy again to the point we don’t have ownership or jobs then towns county’s and the country gets closer to poverty
@@bigblivin9722So the only option is to close the factory... problem with Germany's high cost specially energy, who's gonna buy it? Arabs and Chinese are not idiots.
I got fired 2 years ago, I would’ve taken a pay cut if that meant keeping my job.
Pay cuts in this scenario would likely end-up in layoffs, it's just a matter of time, and that's what this uproar is all about.
Would you take a pay cut if you knew you were still going to be made redundant? That is the situation facing VW employees.
10% pay cut 2 years ago, 10% pay cut last year, 10% pay cut this year, 10% pay cut next year... Pretty soon you're working and making what you're making now.
@@monkeysuncle2816 If layoffs are inevitable and redundancy payments are based on your salary I can understand why workers want to maintain their salary to the end.
Asking employees to take paycuts is really a scam while the bosses take home multimillions. 🎉
Rivian is fixing the problems VW has had with computer modules and software systems integration. Rivian took an Audi E-tron and converted it over to Rivian modules and software in 3 months. VW management and engineers were floored. This is how the deal with Rivian came to be. Rivian engineers did in 3 months what VW engineers could not do at all in years.
I hate it that Rivian is bailing out VW.
@@WillieFungo It’s just business, and I’m cool with it. VW still makes durable cars, even if they’re behind on innovation. Rivian, on the other hand, really needs this-they’ve been in financial trouble, and this partnership could be the boost they need to steady things. Smart move for both sides!
@@HullioGQ No, Rivian is giving away their economic moat. It would be better to wait out VW's collapse and try and take their market share. Software is the only advantage next-gen automakers have over the incumbents.
@@WillieFungo VW’s $44B market cap still overshadows Rivian’s $12B, but VW isn’t without challenges. Even with plant closures in China and declining profits there, VW's established global presence and steady revenue streams give them a far better chance of weathering financial storms than Rivian, which continues burning cash. A VW buyout of Rivian within the next 12-18 months still seems like a plausible move to boost their EV ambitions.
@@HullioGQ Where VW going to get the credit to make this buyout? Their finances and projections are frankly trash.
I am VW guy but what a problem, I told them that they gonna fail since they fired Herbert Diess CEO and cancel Tesla-like strategy.
Guess they needed Herbert Diess more than they thought.
What is Diess doing now?
Once VW dumped Diess, they were done.
@@LarryH49Nassau? Bermuda? Laughing his head off? 😂
They, the executives, did not need Herbert Dies!! He would have cut their bonuses, rightfully for cashing by sleeping!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Buying a VW has always been a risky business
The dealers and parts are ripoffs
@@markjonz always has been.
I bought one and it had nothing but problems then swapped it for a Chinese car and it's way more reliable and costs me far less. I really cannot see these German automakers surviving at all. They are pumping out ovepriced trash.
The worst car I have ever driven came from VW
Are these union workers also protesting the government for which they voted and who set the table for the automotive industy disaster?
The writing has been on the wall for 25 years where all of the car industry needed to go. There is nothing new that the government did or released that was not known for that whole time. The government has simply ratched up the Euro standards every few years to set the path from point A (100% ICE) to point B (100% emissions free). This is not the fault of government, after all the mandate for climate action comes from the people electing them. This is 100% the fault of the automakers, who have fought each step of the way and undertaken the absolute minimum required every step of the way. VW was different when lead by Deiss. He saw the future and tried to steer VW in the same direction that world governments were going. He constantly benchmarked against the EV leader, Tesla. But when he was removed and replaced by a petrol head, and the company pivotted back to ICE and hybrids, therin lies their current problem. That and not seeing the rise and rise of China, where VW gets 50% of its profits.
This isn't the fault of the government. The management knew this was coming and did very little about it. You can't blame the government for the bad management at the top of the company.
@@zoransarin5411
The real culprit here is the Chinese Government, giving subsidies to Chinese Manufacturers and rebates to Chineses Citizens to buy Chinese cars EV's, so that foreign Companies like VW can no longer be competitive in the Chinese market.
VW is now faced with the prospect of losing 50% of its profits and has to rely on other markets that have much higher labor and manufacturing costs, and thus lower profits.
The increased cost has been caused, partly, by the German and other Euro Governments obsession with net zero, and the increase in power costs that, that direction has taken things.
With high wages and high power costs, and low, if any, profits, VW has no choice but to get out of manufacturing in Germany.
@@zoransarin5411 The Government forced the Change to EVs AND they caused the CO2 taxes.
There is no Reason for Germany to do anything about climate change because Germany will benefit from it.
@@skasteve6528is the government's fault. The government created and implemented policies...
Looking at the financial numbers and the sales numbers, even if the workers took a 10% pay cut and shut down three plants, this company would still be in trouble. Investments in plant and equipments and future model development are sunk investment costs with large borrowing debts that can only be recovered with sufficient volumes over time. They have massive debts and volumes are declining, the financial numbers say it all. I do believe the first steps will be to sell off their Luxury brands, close more plants, and increase ventures with Chinese companies .
Senior management only use their last moments to distribute money. In fact, their income has hardly been affected. But workers will lose their jobs.
I'm sorry, but as an American automotive repair tech, that dispise German automotive engineering, I can't help but laugh my bottom off🤣
They did this to themselves. Overpriced, over engineered, and now the ev push, absolutely caused this on themselves
Your turn is coming ... very, very soon.
@@capnkirk5528kaboom 💣💣😂😂
@capnkirk5528 my favorite company is up over 20% in the markets. Even ford is down 7. Evs are dead here
@@mrbig7718when the Tariff king takes office it's game over and job losses
@@mrbig7718 No economist is willing to predict a turning point (as a rule).
But, barring something very extraordinary, eighteen months from now at least one US automaker will be either in Chapter 11 or being bailed out.
Also, the math says that even Americans will switch to EVs, despite the efforts of the fossil fuel industry.
We used to be VW fans but that changed in 2009 with a jetta purchase that was very disappointing.
We had a 1995 jetta. Perfect car. Every car VW made past 2000 is just trash. Pity.
We should probably stop using the term "labour cost" and just call it "production cost". The production cost in China is lower due to a combination of factors: streamlined regulations, streamlined supply chain, government policies aligned with industry, lower cost of living meaning no need for higher salaries.
I work for a car manufacturer in the UK. In 2017 said manufacturer was opening a plant in China so we had a group of Chinese workers come over to see how we operated over in the UK. I asked one of the lads who came over from China how much they were getting paid. Shockingly he said £400 a month. I pick up double that in a week after tax. No wonder companies were scrambling to open plants in China. 😂
Aww but that wouldn't be sufficiently sinophobic for western media
@@dave.1981China's economy is structured in a way that keeps the rmb low and the cost of living very low. And because critical production is publicly owned its resiliant to external market fluctuations and immune to profit motivated interests. Smart.
A major factor is low power costs, because China didn't just bow down to climate activists and shut down their cheap power producing plants.
It's all very well to want a clean and C02 free environment, but tripling and in some countries, quadrupling power prices over a decade is just a recipe for economic suicide, and Germany is on suicide watch, factor in already high wages and the Chinese Government making it very difficult for foreign car Co's to compete with the local car Co's with subsidies and rebates, and you don't need an economics degree to see why VW is in the poo.
@SaintKimbo China has a hugely diverse energy grid focused on renewables first and phasing out fossil fuels in favour of nuclear/solar/wind, augmented by gas. I think your idea of the Chinese energy situation is way out of date.
Diess tried to warned them all 😂😂😂
Sam taking no prisoners 😂 love it. 🙌🔥
the writing's on the wall....
You are so right about VW. My wife used to work for these guys at a high level. They let go the people with knowledge and experience to keep themselves from looking bad and making positive change. . It’s catching up with them now. Too bad. Such a great brand that they let degrade.
Quite common in a lot of industries I am afraid, that is why I have had my own business for decades.
The country and the company have done so many things wrong that it will be the subject of books to come. Best thing management could do is declare bankruptcy, reorganize with a tenth of the workforce, sell the premium units off, find a Chinese purchaser. It's not possible to sand down a rotten log enough to make furniture.
No books. No Body cares😂
In the past, a Chinese company might have bought a brand at a knock down price, to enable them to sell in a western country. That ship has sailed long ago.
This moment is just gonna happen and it is. VW has never produced sexy nice good reliable cars. They are always full of problem
As a VW owner since 98 lmao I tend do disagree. I’ve had hardly any major issues over the years.
Always drove GTIs and Rs so I think thry look better than most cars, hold up better too
I have 2011 Golf Tdi almost 300 km on it and it still runs like new!!! Very reliable and cheap to maintain
@@mirsadkulasic2497 Everything is relative to EVs.
Everyone takes a pay cut, including all the executives, and remove all bonuses and their 😅golden parachutes, then we can talk.
The executives are taking the same pay cut as the workers.
Shipbuilding has all but disappeared from Europe. The Automotive sector will likely go the same way for very similar reason - costs and labour relations.
NO, NO, no one wants to touch VW until the house cleaning is over
When the house cleaning is over, they will be no more.
Dear VW employees, take the pay cut or find a job elsewhere. And in a few months there will be mass layoffs anyway and most will loose their jobs at VW, worldwide.
There will be mass layoffs regardless. Would you take a pay cut knowing that you are going to be unemployed in 18 months to three years anyway?
@@skasteve6528 at least still have job and searching job if available
@@skasteve6528then what’s the point of striking if the layoffs are inevitable?
It is not appropriate to lay off employees while senior management still enjoy high salaries
We sold our Volkswagen last week. Bought another makers. Partly because we don’t believe they will keep their value plus hard to get service at a reasonable price.
So all workers take a 10% pay cut. The average worker can no longer pay their health insurance or house payments. The CEO loses 3 of his 30 millions. So he does not even notice.
Would be karma if they went out the hoot after the diesel gate fiasco. Thanks Viking!
The senior management of VW is to blame. Management underestimated the disruptive effect of government sponsored EV revolution. The management responsoble for developing the EV vehicle should be fired.
Now if i was CEO i would shut all plants until the union dispute is settled.
That's what VW gets for sitting on their laurels . They have done that since 1999. Very small improvements here and there while everyone else was leaving them behind in luxury, features, LED lighting, not giving Americans the same features on the European versions of VW models. With all the money they had, VW could have made a really bold move to be real trail-blazers in the EV field, but a tiny American start up, Tesla, just ate VW's breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Respectfully & Seriously led lights are toxic to human eyes (think brain) Ask Doctor Jack Kruse. Sue any employer that installs led lighting at work, class action.
The Executives annual salaries may not come close... They should be required to dip I to their savings, which should be considerable, given their high salaries.
The decision to allow the Company to fall so far behind (and resist) the transition to EVs is not down to the Workers.
Don’t blame the workers. Sure - they want to protect their position and their demand for a pay rise seems baffling, but it reflects the cost of living in Germany.
The real issue here is that VW execs have failed to adapt to the changing market. They backed ‘clean diesel’ to the death and waited too long to develop good EVs. Their real profitability has been obscured for years by selling so-called premium ICE cars in China, but now the Chinese don’t want them. They are producing better and more affordable cars themselves, highlighting that VW’s product is both antiquated and overpriced.
Please stop talking nonsense.
VW and other foreign car makers are being FORCED out of the Chinese market by the Chinese Government giving handouts to the Chinese manufacturers and subsidies to Chinese Consumers who buy Chinese EV's, no one can compete with that, no matter how good your cars are.
This is just going to, and already is, start a tariff war between China and the rest of the world.
Do you really think that Germany and other car producing countries are just going to let China sell their Government subsidized cars at prices that are going to destroy their car and associated industries, after the Chinese Government made it UNPROFITABLE for their own manufacturers to produce in China?
VW's EV is much worse than BYD's.
I think VW is still using the ICE approach to design EVs, which is the reason for their failure
In Germany, Tesla somehow seems to be doing just fine. I saw a VW video a couple of years ago showing their production line. It was like watching someone wading through glue! so frustrating, come on guys, just get a move on. How many people does it take to fit a wiring harness? 4 by the looks of it, one doing most of the work and the other 3 supervising etc. The harness itself was a monster compared to the Tesla one by the way. No wonder Tesla can make a car in one third the time VW can.
The VW CEO and C-suite officers made a lot of financial bets, seems to have lost, and they want the union to pay for it. Obviously there are other issues with the problems, but the C-suite executives should take similar or larger salary hits and layoffs since the crisis seems to have originated there. Obviously cuts to C--suits bonus/salaries will not be enough to solve the problem, but they should lead by sharing the pain. In 2023, Oliver Blume is estimated to have made around €8.7 million, and the Board of Directors receive a salary of €15 million each. Maybe they should be laid off. I think the "bloating" starts at the top.
Coukld it be a KODAK moment?
Not only Volkswagen , but also other big companies will go bankrupt in Germany. Instead of supporting wars in the world, they would have done a better thing if they had helped their own companies and provided financial support to their citizens.
How much socialism can you handle? I hear former East Germans missing "the good old days" where the State led everyone by the nose everywhere, and you had little choice.
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for Ukraine"
Sam, I looked this up. Median wage for a union member at VW in Germany. 62 Euros per hour. Tesla pays its production workers in Germany about $20 per hour, but gives 30 days paid vacation. Median wage for production line worker at BYD in China is $4.20 to $9.00 with most at the lower end. Tesla pays about $9.00/hr in China with some overtime. Free meals and transportation. VW data in China are opaque but it's less than $20 an hour. There is no way VW Germany can compete pay 62 Euros while BYD is paying $4 or $6 or whatever in China and making better cars. The IG Metall union workers are going to bankrupt VW. They can't compete with Tesla in Germany either. I think VW is doomed.
VW should open factories in India, where wages are much lower than in China
Wouldn't it be funny if VW goes bankrupt and is bought out by Xpeng?
I don't think so. VW Group is so much bigger than Xpeng alone.
Don't think so as the real value of VW is below zero and Chinese are not dumb.
Maybe an indian company?
Sell your stock before it happens 🤣🤭
To show a spirit of shared sacrifice, cut all compensation down to the median worker's wages (the executive suite also). But those greedy narcisists at the top never will. Last years 8 figure salary must be maintained for them.
Good idea
Hey, sorry for saying this. The problem is not VW as a brand. The issue is how the German culture is. Running a company today means being fast, agile and adding value to the customers. Again sorry, this is not within the German DNA at all today. I have been working and exposed to the German DNA for 20+ years now as a foreigner, and his is not simply the culture. It is rather stiff, extremely formal, slow and no value add thinking at all. That is the problem according to me. Please change the mindset German people, otherwise you are screwed. Cheers and love you!
And yet it's been an industrial power house since the middle ages. Methodical and consistent often win out in the longer term.
same as japanese..... too much paperwork, slow decision making, missing trend after trend now a relic of post war industrial age...
This trend is not unique to Volkswagen or Germany, as many developed countries face similar challenges. Unfortunately, the United States, in particular, shares a similar story in labor and auto manufacturing.
Changing a company this much is very difficult and maybe it would have been easier to start again with a sub brand which gradually takes over the parent. I think this is what Deiss was trying to do with ID but he didn’t get the support
I understand where you are coming from. In this case, it is the German auto industry as a whole rather than a specific brand that is going to have problems.
The traits you've commented on aren't specific to Germanic people (I'm including the other Germanic countries here, including England), The Japanese have similar characteristics (reserved, formal, slow to jump onto the latest fad), which can be a good thing as well as a bad thing. Interestingly, the Chinese and Koreans have similar characteristics. Perhaps it is the people who aren't like this, who are the outliers.
As you said VW makes a lose on every EV they sell. So, I blame investments in EVs. Cost too much and no reasonable person wants one. Hybrids are acceptable that's why it's sales are growing.
No reasonable person wants an EV? WTF 😂
lmao...the demise of the existing automakers, as we are now seeing with VW and Nissan, and many more to follow, is because they are NOT sufficiently pursuing EVs. Not the other way around. If EVs, and the investment in EVs is the problem that you think it is, explain why the biggest automaker in the world by market capitalisation is Tesla, a 100% EV maker. Shares in Tesla are currently going through the roof. They have no debt like VW and Yoyota ($339 billion and $398 billion respectively), are sitting on a pile of cash, and selling all their EVs at profit.
VW is failing for the same thoughts that you have. VW don't believe in EV and is only made enough to be in compliance. The irony.
you are kidding of course! ask Tesla, a lot of 'reasonable people' buy them it seems. The only reason hybrids are acceptable now is because of the latest trendy knee-jerk perceived lack of range and charging options. In 5 years, full evs will be the norm, the reason - all the tech including batteries will be way ahead of what ice vehicles will offer. You cannot charge your diesel from home no matter how big it is, but it is possible to charge your ev from home if you have the room. Also, ev companies are now offering up to 10 year warranties, how many ice cars can match that?
my favourite sports team is still sponsored by VW, I wrote to them almost 2 years ago and said VW are screwed run, they have since extended the VW sponsorship deal, very few of us understand what is happening and we have understood for a while now, it's so bloody obvious but apparently not to the suits, tip of the hat to you Viking, I've literally been laughed at with my legacy auto collapse predictions and I bet not one of those laughing at me for a couple years now will give me any credit whatsoever. I've been all in on Tesla for 2 years already, and not because of cars 💥
This is what hubris can do to you. German car this and that. Now beaten by China? LMAO
Diess was fired in disgust for doing the right thing. All involved in that decision must now be fired immediately. In HR, in the labor union, in the senior leadership.
management should take 10% off their wages..
Management owes you nothing.
The salary cuts are across the board, including executives.
Well the union did propse pay cuts for their members (totaling about 1.5 billion euros ) back in November, provided VW could guarantee that the future of all Volkswagen’s German factories would be safe, along with job security guarantees. They also proposed that senior management forfeit their bonuses. VW couldn't agree to this as they know that plant closures are inevitable
They should be taking a lot more than they are asking the workers. 10% of millions is meaningless and the ceo won't notice the difference. Whereas the workers will notice their 10 % cut.
@@JohnSmith-ux3tt And? The total compensation of all the workers combined is like 100x more than the CEO's salary. Plus it's harder to find a good CEO who has experience with the company's operations.
How much of a pay cut is the CEO and the board taking? Lead from the front.
Thanks - love that, “If you’re a VW fan, unsubscribe and stick your head in the sand!”
I have a friend like that- VW can do no wrong as far as he’s concerned. However that’s nothing new, he said the same just when we all found out about dieselgate. (Bashing head against wall! 🤪)
Another Kodak moment the management should have seen coming. That is a major reason for management existence.
The management DID see it coming. Carl Diess (the CEO) kept loudly saying "we need a total restructure and focus solely on EVs or the Chinese are gonna cream us in world markets". For which the board sacked him in 2022.
A lot of the commenters here just focus on the US market but it is the other 85% of world sales, where the Chinese are indeed creaming them, that actually matters to VW. They could pull out of the US tomorrow and be OK but if they lose Asian markets, as they are, they're toast.
Game Over Germany. Game Over Japan.
Game over USA
“Go watch Disney movies that’s probably more of your thing” EMOTIONAL DAMAGE 😂😂😂😂
I always loved VW but after diesel gate? Then they fired Dietz (spelling?), a CEO who knew what was coming and what had to be done. Add to this, I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind much of the negative propaganda and vandalism toward the Berlin giga factory.
Herbert Diess
The impact of Nord Stream pipe line, if overheads are higher, you can’t survive.
Ursula said “why Europe doesn't import CHEAPER natural gas from the US?"
@
Indeed she was 100% correct isn’t she
Wow, great conclusion but frankly speaking complete bullshit. Tesla in Berlin is doing great. Why, why.
Its lacking innovation, complacency and more moaning 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Only 10% pay cut, they'll probably still be the highest paid auto workers in the world.
(UAW just keep following VW's lead)
Their high salaries come from VW's profits in China.
But their unchanging car models have lost the love of Chinese people
i have never understood the love of VW.
same as tens of junk US brands which americans love and they are absolutely junk... and hence why with time, japanese brands started to take over..
Largesse in Germany factories is rife. Australia lost their manufacturing for same reason, Britain before that.
Lack of investment, lazy middle management, uninterested shop floor, terrible man hours per vehicle. Overlong holidays, sickness benefits...the list goes on.
I had a few friends who worked at Holden in Brisbane, same crap, strikes for any pathetic thing, just went for anything they could get at the time, but the cars they put out were rubbish, I sold my Belmont, too many things falling off plus it used to 'whistle' as it went, if I wanted a radio, it had to buy a 'special' . My mates Datsun 1600 had everything included, and it was stock standard!
A rewrite of history here mate. Holden closed because in the early 2000s GM made a strategic decision to pull out of all RHD markets - they just bullshitted about it in Australia to keep getting those government subsidies. They also shut up shop in the UK, SA, India and Thailand.
The Chinese have found out how to turn the ev into a home appliance like a washing machine
Where was the VW inteligencia, the brains of VW in the first part of the 21.st century? Now it is too late.
The brains slowed down into the comfort zone of lining their own pockets.😂
The intelligence shows how they did handle diesel gate!!!
Corrupt bunch of executives
They sacked the CEO in 2022 for publicly saying pretty much exactly this.
I’ve seen this before a big companies where they drop like this. And then all of a sudden they buy more stocks and they go up the hell with them. Kinda like a game for the rest of the world.
Sell! Retail investors can get out quicker than government institutional players. Run! Think Nokia, Kodak, Video rental stores. Milk co-operatives. This is the end because of technology. Not because of bad executive management or bad workers.
it is because of management, that make the calls (or lack of) on tech, not tech itself.
VW should have been handing out how to speak Mandarin Chinese" at the meeting. These laborers just don't get it
Their heads are still in the sand.
VW invested ~2 B Euro in Swedish bankrupted NorthVolt...
Cheap natural gas supplies from Russia are gone, Forever, period; costs will naturally rise and won’t be able to compete with other vehicles.
Ursula said “why Europe doesn't import CHEAPER natural gas from the US?"
Bullshit argument.
They got rid of their forward thinking futurist CEO and now they can eat shit! Too bad VW.
To all VW workers. Try working at Tesla or BYD.
I bet you Herbert Diess is like....."See, I told you so:.....!!! 🤣😂😅😆😄
Union always think they are the boss. They are not owners. The boss should have the right to layoff workers for any reason with 2 or 3 months compensation. If employees don't like it, go be a boss.
The Master Servant Act of 1864 finished a while ago champ.
Nature abhors a vacuum. When a company's management isn't fulfilling it's role properly, someone else will fill that vacuum. It will either be private equity sharks, the unions or the government. In all scenarios, it won't go well for the company.
It is right for workers to fight for their rights
Self inflicted wound that getting worse, instead of stopping the bleed they keep pushing stupid policies.
VW have to offload their crown jewel brands such as Bentley, Audi and Porsche in order to reduce their massive debts.
They must sell at a low price because the sales of these brands are also rapidly declining
@@amandagrant4331 why are they declining?
@@TerryHickey-xt4mf
Because young Chinese consumers do not like so-called luxury cars with a long history.
In fact, these European brands heavily rely on the Chinese market.
If an automotive company wants to stay in the game and crush it, they’ve got to set up a big HQ in Silicon Valley and bring in the top software and AI talent.
Investing in areas where you are not good at is not always successful.
Northvolt holds orders worth billions of dollars but is unable to deliver them, this is a real occurrence.
I have ordered a new VW Golf in August this year. Still waiting for the delivery. But I'm an EV fan. I wanted to order a Tesla but VW had options more in line with my needs. In my country I feel like it's a bit too early for EVs. Not enough charging stations, prices too high, not enough selling and repair centers. So for a few years I'll stick with my hybrid VW and my next car will be an EV.
You suffer the same problem as the VW executives. Wait, wait wait and watch the residual value of your shit car!!
VW track record shows the eay they did handle diesel gate. Corrupt till the bones!!
Just accept the world is changing faster . 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
As VWAG owner and fan I appreciate this video. It is well researched, direct and honest commentary and unbiased (seemingly). My two cents on the situation is everyone needs to sacrifice and compromise from the board members to the employees. And my observation from the reaction/actions taken by both is that it’s not about the company it’s about looking after themselves, which I can understand from both perspectives but is only going to hurt the country if there’s no resolution.
People in China like VW becuse they have been in China for a long time. I remember a time when every taxi in Shanghai was a VW Jetta. Many people, have fond memories of owning a trusty old VW but their EVs are just not very good. Even if they have the Xpeng platform now, why buy a VW not an Xpeng?
If your product is too poor, fans will leave, even though they liked it yesterday
Maybe the EU could introduce something to save these jobs? Something like ...... tariffs.
This year, China has only sold several thousand cars in Europe.
It is unreasonable to attribute VW's own mistakes to these thousands of Chinese cars.
Launching a trade war with China will only make VW more difficult in China.
Why would the EU penalise the other 26 countries by increasing the price of cars just because the Germans have got themselves into a mess?
In the GFC unions for the auto workers in the US agreed to a pay cut; so union membership fell, and pay/conditions stayed low after the crisis.
The government will bail them out, as always.
That's the thing with these big companies that are "too big to fail." It's the same with banks. CEOs don't even care as much about making sound business decisions anymore, because why bother if they'll just get bailed out anyway?
The government's intervention in enterprises is the most terrifying
Take a look at Northvolt and you'll see how the EU wastes people's money
German government is also bankrupt.They cannot spend any more than they have because it is written into the German constitution.Game over.
what would the Chinese offer for /pay for , say, brands Skoda , SEAT, Lamborghini? 10 Bn in total or 5.5% of the debt burden ? correct t me if I am far off
My revivifier says, “ I’ll buy SEAT for twelve bucks!”
Chinese auto makers don't need those brand names. They are already exporting thousands of ev,s to Europe without using those brand names. Better to put those profits into developing better electric motors and batteries for future models.
The Electric Viking is spot on💯. This is the go to channel for automotive investors. Hoping your wife is ok my friend. Made $$$ listing to this channel. Shorted this stock based on your research. Made $$$$ on your reporting. Bless your boys mate.
Rivian, Xpeng, Chinese software, scout, all these sign of desperate spendings like no tomorrow
Honestly, I am a fan of the VW ID series and the modern Scout Motors, and I will not unsubscribe.
I love how you broke down the XAI501x project in your video! Can’t wait to see it skyrocket!
That price 244 was from share buy backs from 0% interest rate from European Union. The old saying already says that, you crop what you plant and Vw did awfull during Covid times , no investment whatsoever and just throwing away money for the board and shareholders
Evening bro happy days for VW 😆
How tables have turned...
There is less and less interest in EVs world Wide
🤣🤣🤣
Yeah. I hear the sales of horse and carriages are booming,🤡
False
@Evsmart-w8n is definitely true in the US
EV sales for the past few years are as follows:
2020 - 2.98 million sold
2021 - 6.6 million sold
2022 - 10.4 million sold
2023 - 13.9 million sold
2024 - 16.7 million sold (estimated based on first 11 months sales)
I showed my donkey these numbers and my donkey said "yep, EV sales are definitiely growing and not seeing less and less interest".
I would suggest you get a donkey to help you with more intelligent comments
What planet are u on..lol
VW profits down by 42% BMW profits down by 82% why is no one talking about BMW 😂
VW is significantly bigger than BMW
There time will come. I can't see a future for any of the German car manufacturers really, German cars are always over engineered, expensive, expensive to repair and less reliable than their Japanese contemporaries.
BMW has not closed its factories in Germany
@@skasteve6528 a bit like their tanks in WW2 my dad told me, wonderful engineering but just not up to fighting the Ruskies on their turf in winter and so on.
Time to dismiss the IGM.
Well lets wait till the election, if they dont come out in force against the greens and the SPD its over.
You said it a couple of years ago that legacy automakers from germany and japan were ignoring China's upcoming auto regulations. Shocking how right to the end they ignored the signs.
Investors are fleeing all Ev interest here in the U.S. People don't want them, Way to Dangerous and a major Hassle
electric cars are almost as bad as amerikan feemales.
Enjoy the slide down cowboy. The US is in worse shape than Germany
Not according to Tesla's share price. I hope you are never my doctor as you seem to be as thick as 2 planks.
So how come investors are falling over themselves to invest in the latest eve companies, regardless of how sketchy the business?
stats please
The VW Union needs to understand simple math: 0+0=0
I agree with you on all this. What is your take on how to get out of the situation for VW Group? Would it be good to just dump the prices of current cars? What would that do now and on the longer term?
I would say: cancel old platforms, use gigacasting, xpeng platforms or PPE, add more standard equipment, lower prices and provide a better guarantee. My take on this is rhat it must be better to sell cars with a loss than sell no cars at all.
Wow. Even the rats want off the Titanic at this point.
for this, you are right. I am a very happy VW Passat owner. But what the workers claims here is not good. VW needs to move and reduce the staff as well as the benefits. Seems that salaries and benefits are approx 20% higher than already hefty German salaries in similar industriea
Seems to be a lot of manual processes in their factories.
During VAG's last crisis, over diesel emissions, the company whined about the cost, and threatened factory headcount reductions. The head of the union, made a very good point: why not VAG get rid of redundant divisions and vanity projects instead? Skoda and SEAT compete in the same segment as VW, so they are paying for three sets of administrative overhead, when there could be only one. Then there is the money they pour into vanity projects like Bugatti and Lamborghini. Sergio Marchionne publicly said Bugatti is the biggest waste of capital he had ever seen. Did VAG clean house? Nope.
VAG has followed the same playbook at Stellantis, and Ford, with the same result. They all cut quality, and raised price, to fatten up their operating margins. VW's global warranty claims expense is now only exceeded by Ford's. They could charge premium prices, after the plague, by working the "shortage" narrative. But now, they have 100 days supply, or more, of cars sitting in storage lots, so the "shortage" narrative no longer works and customers are rejecting the high prices.
So what is VAG's response? Same thing that their first choice was in their last crisis: take money away from the employees.
Here is a tip VW.. Start making cars that people want. This means STOP making EVs. Cut debt by selling overseas plants.
compare the share price of Tesla to VW. Yep, really smart to stick with ICE when the world is going EV. Buy more shares of VW Ken and watch your fortune grow
That is a sure fire fix. Continue making cars that you specifically want, even though demand is falling. Stop making cars that there is a rising demand for. Oh and whilst your at it, close some of your most productive plants.
I'm sure your future tips will be more eagerly awaited than Warren Buffet's.
@@zoransarin5411
I'm pretty sure @ken3288 doesn't like your retort at all 😅😅😅
@@skasteve6528
I'm pretty sure @ken3288 doesn't like your retort at all too 😅😅😅
Means going bust within 2025. Excellent suggestion as the debt is higher as all their assets. You must belong to the monkey family as you also did forget to mention their shady diesel gate story of misleading customers.
Vw shut down their australian factory in the 1960s sam.
VW cars are still being sold in Australia to this day
But I have a bad impression of them
My second car is a vw passat.I am driving a lexus E260,my next car must be a EV,I am Chinese