VW’s dieselgate chief engineers are being disposed off

Neusser, when Strategie 2018 was still achievable

Neusser, when Strategie 2018 was still achievable

The Hallway Radio was right, one more time. As intimated yesterday, Heinz-Jakob Neusser is no longer R&D chief at the Volkswagen brand. However, the Hallway Radio missed another big one: Long-term Purchasing chief Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz.

In a decapitation of Volkswagen’s R&D leadership, Neusser was put on leave immediately after dieselgate erupted a few months ago, and with him, Audi’s Hackenberg, and Porsche’s Hatz. Hackenberg officially resigned last week. Neusser’s negotiations for a golden parachute apparently didn’t go so well. According to a Volkswagen statement, Neusser “is available to take on other responsibilities in the company.” That means, he will do nothing until he gets bored and leaves. Neusser is succeeded by Frank Welsch, formerly R&D chief at Skoda.

Garcia Sanz hands the keys to the Purchasing Dept. of the Volkswagen brand to Ralf Brandstätter, who has been in VW Purchasing for all his professional life. Sanz isn’t leaving though. He will be Volkswagen’s dieselgate czar, or in VW speak, he “will supervise the systematic processing of the diesel issue.” Garcia Sanz remains Volkswagen Group Purchasing chief, and that’s where the big and costly decisions are made.

Oh, and Karlheinz Blessing is the new HR chief of the Volkswagen Group. Something the esteemed Dailykanban reader has known all along.

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