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VW and Porsche Shuffle Board Ranks

The dispute between Porsche and Volkswagen regarding the control of the largest carmaker in Europe is about to be settled as VW's union chief Bernd Osterloh has become the chairman of the works council, Autonews wrote today. For those of you who missed the news, Bernd Osterloh initially requested more rights for Volkswagen's employees in Porsche Automobil's works council but no decision has been announced until now.

According to the aforementioned source, Osterloh has a single major goal that would resolve the dispute while satisfying both parts: a two-class system through which Porsche's 12,000 employees would “outrank Volkswagen's 360,000 workforce”. Even though a decision is expected in the near future, a Porsche Automobil representative told Autonews that Volkswagen's votes will “carry greater weight reflecting the carmaker's larger workforce”. However, Porsche Automobili's works council will now include 20 employee representatives belonging to Volkswagen and Porsche.

Porsche is currently the owner of Volkswagen, often referred to as the largest car manufacturer in Europe, with 42.6 percent shares and 31.5 percent in options.

Rumors claiming that Porsche aims to take full control of Volkswagen circulated since summer, with German officials willing to block the deal in case negotiations could go through. For example, the German state of Lower Saxony claimed a potential agreement could simply eradicate Volkwagen's independence in the DAX index of the German stock market.

"Lower Saxony wants to keep the independence of VW in the DAX index on the bourse and in Wolfsburg ... as headquarters of the company. There will be no domination agreement with us. We will prevent it with our blocking minority,” Premier Christian Wulff was quoted as saying by wheels24 at the time of negotiations.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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