Volkswagen is coming under increasing criticism following recent news that the company plans to pay members of its management board a total of 63.24 million euros for the year 2015. 2015 was the year that saw Volkswagen involved in one of the bigger corporate scandals of the last few years, with the company admitting that it used software that reduces emissions when the car is being tested, making the vehicle appear more environmentally-friendly than it actually is.
Reports have emerged that Volkswagen’s top management had been aware of the deception since before the official ad-hoc announcement. Yet the same people will be handsomely rewarded if Volkswagen has its way.
In a recent interview for German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, criticised the executive board for not waiving bonuses despite bringing the company to the brink of collapse. This latest news about VW has understandably been met with public outrage in Germany.
BETTER FINANCE also calls on the executive board to disgorge their bonuses, as this is not simply a matter of contractual obligations, but rather one of governance gone badly wrong and morals gone awry. The only way the VW management can claim the moral high ground is by volunteering to return their bonuses and take a hard look at the remuneration system in place.
Reuters: German finmin criticizes Volkswagen management over bonuses