Ex-VW head Winterkorn resigns from Porsche Holding
October 17, 2015
Former Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn announced on Saturday that he was resigning from his position as chair of Porsche Holding Company at the end of the month.
The embattled ex-CEO had already stepped down from VW at the end of September following revelations that the firm had cheated on emissions tests.
Replacing the 68-year-old Winterkorn on November 1 will be Hans Dieter Poetsch, who is the new chairman of VW's supervisory board, in which Porsche Holding has the largest stake.
On September 18, the US Environmental Protection Agency accused Volkswagen of having installed software on some of its vehicles that enabled them to circumvent air pollution standards, tarnishing the company's sterling reputation and embroiling it a scandal whose reverberations are still being felt.
It was soon discovered that about 11 million vehicles had been affected worldwide.
Potential fallout for employees
On Saturday, VW's works council, the representative body for employees, told German news agency DPA that the firm would likely be forced to cut back on contracted workers as financial uncertainty loomed.
"As the works council, we will support all possibilities to secure the jobs of our colleagues with temporary contracts," said a council spokesman. "We know that the board of directors is discussing other possibilities."
Volkswagen employs around 600,000 workers globally, thousands of them on temporary contracts, according to the most recent figures.
es/tj (AP, dpa)