"The worm has to taste good to the fish, not the fisherman. Sometimes I have the impression that it's the other way around with us."
The bettors come to the OTB Branches to bet, but since Presidents of the OTB have never worked selling bets or socialized in the Branches with bettors, they can only taste slot machines?
Nassau OTB VW Nassau OTB VW Nassau OTB VW Nassau OTB VW Nassau OTB VW
worms worms everywhere and not a chef in sight?
VW Labor Rep Blasts Car Maker's U.S. Strategy
Casts Doubt on Management's Growth Targets
Updated Jan. 22, 2014 4:12 p.m. ET
WOLFSBURG, Germany—
Volkswagen AG
VOW.XE -2.09%
's top labor representative blasted the company's move into the
U.S. car market as a disaster and cast doubt on management's growth
targets, suggesting that a bitter row has broken out at the top of
Europe's biggest car maker over its struggling U.S. campaign.
Bernd Osterloh,
the head of VW's works council and a member of the powerful
supervisory board, told reporters Wednesday that VW's U. S. performance
isn't likely to improve for another two years, making it uncertain the
firm can meet its ambitious goal of selling at least one million cars in
the U.S. by 2018. He suggested that VW's entire U.S. strategy has
broken down, citing an anemic sales force and a lack of sufficient
variety in its models. He also said VW is out of touch with the tastes
of American drivers.
"The situation in
the U.S. is a disaster," he said. "The worm has to taste good to the
fish, not the fisherman. Sometimes I have the impression that it's the
other way around with us."
It is rare in
Germany's politically correct and discreet corporate culture for anyone
to criticize management so openly—even an outspoken union member like
Mr. Osterloh, who in past years has rallied workers at VW to demonstrate
for higher pay and job security. As a member of the supervisory board, a
nonexecutive body made up equally of labor and shareholder
representatives to oversee the executive board, he is privy to the
company's secrets and has influence over strategy.
The harsh comments came just days after Chief Executive
Martin Winterkorn
and
Michael Horn,
the new head of the VW brand in North America, boasted at the
Detroit auto show that the Wolfsburg, Germany-based car maker was still
on track to meet its targets. Last year, VW-brand car sales dropped 7%
in the U.S. despite a generally robust U.S. car market. VW needs to do
better in the U.S. if it is ever to achieve its goal of overtaking
Toyota
7203.TO -1.04%
as the world's biggest car maker.
A United Auto Workers supporter waves a sign at the Democratic National Convention, 2012
Getty Images
"The U.S. is the cornerstone of our
2018 strategy," Mr. Winterkorn said in Detroit, adding: "For sure it
won't be a walk in the park."
Until last
year, the VW brand was on a hot streak in the U.S. In 2010, the company
launched a new Jetta that is made in Mexico and was supposed to be
tailored to American tastes. A year later it opened a new plant in
Chattanooga, Tenn., that produced an Americanized version of its Passat
sedan that was cheaper than the previous model, which had been imported
from Germany. Between 2009 and 2012, VW's sales doubled.
But
while sales were rising, some longtime VW fans were disappointed with
the new models. To make them cheaper for the U.S. market, VW used
harder, less expensive plastics, and it didn't equip them with the
independent rear suspension that gives the fun-to-drive feel that VWs
had become known for.
VW also struggled
to shake an image for mediocre quality. In J.D. Power's 2013 initial
quality study, the VW brand ranked below average and well behind
Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota and Hyundai.
VW's
U.S. unit expected further growth in 2013 and even added a third shift
to crank out more Passats at the Chattanooga plant. But such rivals as
Toyota, Honda and Ford launched new models to compete with the Jetta and
Passat, and VW-brand sales suddenly slumped, dropping 7%, to 407,704,
even as the overall market was growing 7%. Last summer, the Chattanooga
plant cut back to two shifts and let 500 contract workers go after less
than a year on the job. At year-end, VW's U.S. chief,
Jonathan Browning,
an Englishman, was gone, replaced by Mr. Horn, a German.
Mr.
Osterloh complained that VW's management in Wolfsburg has taken too
long to make crucial decisions to fix the company's U.S. problems. A
case in point, he noted, is the still pending decision about where to
produce a large SUV—dubbed CrossBlue—that will be made and sold in North
America. VW unveiled the vehicle a year ago, but it still hasn't
decided whether to build it at the Chattanooga facility or in Puebla,
Mexico, where wages are lower.
Meanwhile,
the lack of a decision has led to speculation that German labor
representatives are holding up a decision, using it as leverage to force
VW to accept unionization of the Chattanooga workforce by the United
Auto Workers. But, in a blow to the U.S. trade union's Chattanooga
campaign, Mr. Osterloh made clear that the works council, dominated by
the powerful IG Metall metal workers union, hasn't made its support for
production of the big SUV contingent on the UAW's success. He suggested
the decision was delayed by VW management.
"If
we had been able to decide about the vehicle we would have, regardless
of whether UAW is in or not because there is no connection," said Mr.
Osterloh.
A spokesman for VW declined to
comment on Mr. Osterloh's criticism, adding that the company would
decide where to build the SUV when "all the parameters are in place."
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com and Neal E. Boudette at neal.boudette@wsj.com
No comments:
Post a Comment