Economist Monika Schnitzer has demanded a hard course correction at Volkswagen. “At VW, an end with a shock is better than a shock without an end” said the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors for the assessment of the overall economic development to the “Mainz Morning” (Thursday edition). “If one doesn’t take the right steps now, everything will only get worse.”
She attributed the high salaries at VW to the company’s ability to sell its cars with large margins and to “generously involve the workforce in the profits.” “That no longer works” the economist said. “Therefore, productivity needs to increase, also through job cuts or lower wages.”
Schnitzer criticized the management. “Even the top management should be held accountable. That’s been going on for a long time already” she said. “It’s still unbelievable in hindsight that under Martin Winterkorn’s leadership a cheat software was installed instead of building modern cars.”
The economist seems to hold little of the warning strikes. “Strikes don’t ensure that more cars are sold” she said.