Matthias Muller took over as Volkswagen CEO. (Photo: Getty Images)
Sep 26, 2015
Top-ranking Volkswagen officials on Friday cast blame for the company's large-scale diesel emissions-fixing scandal on a small number of unidentified and relatively low-level engineers and technicians.
In public statements issued at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, new CEO Matthias Muller condemned the "unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development."
Muller, former head of Porsche, took over after Martin Winterkorn resigned from the position of CEO earlier this week claiming he is "not aware" of any wrongdoing on his part.
The company built a software "defeat device" that allowed cars to cheat on emissions control tests and spew up to 40 times the level of pollutants legally permitted. The scandal is now known to have affected 11 million cars worldwide.
Echoing Muller, other top officials publicly condemned the lower-ranking workers they say are responsible.
Bernd Osterloh, chairperson of the company's work council who also sits on the executive committee, charged: "A small group has done damage to our company. We need a climate where mistakes are not hidden."
Berthold Huber, acting head of the company's supervisory board, stated: "The supervisory board has, on the basis of current information, recommended suspending some employees immediately until the whole case is cleared up." It is not immediately clear who faced disciplinary action.
"The test manipulations are a moral and political disaster for Volkswagen," Huber continued. "The unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development shocked Volkswagen just as much as it shocked the public."
Mother Jones political blogger Kevin Drum wrote Saturday that he is not buying the company's claims.
"This is ridiculous," Drum argued. "What incentive do low-level engineers and technicians have to do this on their own?"
"Hell, they couldn't even take on a project like this unless their managers OKed the time to do it, and their managers wouldn't do it unless they were being pressed by higher-ups," Drum continued. "Anybody who's ever worked at a big corporation knows this perfectly well."
Consumer advocates, meanwhile, are demanding that the company pay for the full environmental and social costs of its fraud, which they say belies broad irresponsibility across the auto industry.
"VW must still pay full penalties under law and grant full rebates to the customers it deceived into buying pollution-spewing cars that led to massive, undeserved profits," declared Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of U.S. PIRG, in a statement issued Wednesday.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Top-ranking Volkswagen officials on Friday cast blame for the company's large-scale diesel emissions-fixing scandal on a small number of unidentified and relatively low-level engineers and technicians.
In public statements issued at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, new CEO Matthias Muller condemned the "unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development."
Muller, former head of Porsche, took over after Martin Winterkorn resigned from the position of CEO earlier this week claiming he is "not aware" of any wrongdoing on his part.
The company built a software "defeat device" that allowed cars to cheat on emissions control tests and spew up to 40 times the level of pollutants legally permitted. The scandal is now known to have affected 11 million cars worldwide.
Echoing Muller, other top officials publicly condemned the lower-ranking workers they say are responsible.
Bernd Osterloh, chairperson of the company's work council who also sits on the executive committee, charged: "A small group has done damage to our company. We need a climate where mistakes are not hidden."
Berthold Huber, acting head of the company's supervisory board, stated: "The supervisory board has, on the basis of current information, recommended suspending some employees immediately until the whole case is cleared up." It is not immediately clear who faced disciplinary action.
"The test manipulations are a moral and political disaster for Volkswagen," Huber continued. "The unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development shocked Volkswagen just as much as it shocked the public."
Mother Jones political blogger Kevin Drum wrote Saturday that he is not buying the company's claims.
"This is ridiculous," Drum argued. "What incentive do low-level engineers and technicians have to do this on their own?"
"Hell, they couldn't even take on a project like this unless their managers OKed the time to do it, and their managers wouldn't do it unless they were being pressed by higher-ups," Drum continued. "Anybody who's ever worked at a big corporation knows this perfectly well."
Consumer advocates, meanwhile, are demanding that the company pay for the full environmental and social costs of its fraud, which they say belies broad irresponsibility across the auto industry.
"VW must still pay full penalties under law and grant full rebates to the customers it deceived into buying pollution-spewing cars that led to massive, undeserved profits," declared Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of U.S. PIRG, in a statement issued Wednesday.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Top-ranking Volkswagen officials on Friday cast blame for the company's large-scale diesel emissions-fixing scandal on a small number of unidentified and relatively low-level engineers and technicians.
In public statements issued at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, new CEO Matthias Muller condemned the "unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development."
Muller, former head of Porsche, took over after Martin Winterkorn resigned from the position of CEO earlier this week claiming he is "not aware" of any wrongdoing on his part.
The company built a software "defeat device" that allowed cars to cheat on emissions control tests and spew up to 40 times the level of pollutants legally permitted. The scandal is now known to have affected 11 million cars worldwide.
Echoing Muller, other top officials publicly condemned the lower-ranking workers they say are responsible.
Bernd Osterloh, chairperson of the company's work council who also sits on the executive committee, charged: "A small group has done damage to our company. We need a climate where mistakes are not hidden."
Berthold Huber, acting head of the company's supervisory board, stated: "The supervisory board has, on the basis of current information, recommended suspending some employees immediately until the whole case is cleared up." It is not immediately clear who faced disciplinary action.
"The test manipulations are a moral and political disaster for Volkswagen," Huber continued. "The unlawful behavior of engineers and technicians involved in engine development shocked Volkswagen just as much as it shocked the public."
Mother Jones political blogger Kevin Drum wrote Saturday that he is not buying the company's claims.
"This is ridiculous," Drum argued. "What incentive do low-level engineers and technicians have to do this on their own?"
"Hell, they couldn't even take on a project like this unless their managers OKed the time to do it, and their managers wouldn't do it unless they were being pressed by higher-ups," Drum continued. "Anybody who's ever worked at a big corporation knows this perfectly well."
Consumer advocates, meanwhile, are demanding that the company pay for the full environmental and social costs of its fraud, which they say belies broad irresponsibility across the auto industry.
"VW must still pay full penalties under law and grant full rebates to the customers it deceived into buying pollution-spewing cars that led to massive, undeserved profits," declared Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of U.S. PIRG, in a statement issued Wednesday.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.