HAMBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen Group’s executive committee is convening on Tuesday to discuss Chief Executive Herbert Diess’s demand for a contract extension, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
“The options will be put on the table,” one of the sources said, adding that the outcome of the deliberations remains unclear.
Volkswagen declined to comment.
Reuters reported on Friday that Diess had asked the families who control a majority voting stake in Volkswagen to back extending his contract as a vote of confidence in his leadership.
Diess’ has encountered opposition from the board to his efforts to reform the multi-brand car and truck maker and he may review his position if his attempts continue to be stifled, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Diess was appointed head of the VW brand in 2015 and group chief executive in April 2018. His contract is due to expire in 2023 and German companies tend to deliberate over contract extensions only a year before they expire.
The company’s executive committee is chaired by Hans Dieter Poetsch, and includes Wolfgang Porsche and Hans Michel Piech, as well as VW’s labour chief Bernd Osterloh and Lower Saxony premier Stephan Weil.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Carmel Crimmins)
