Volkswagen CEO Mller Tells Employees That Future Won't Be 'Painless'

Speaking to roughly 20,000 employees in Wolfsburg on Tuesday, new Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller outlined the big-picture view for the weeks, months and years ahead. (It’s not good, if you’re wondering.)

Anything that is not absolutely necessary will be cancelled or postponed. And it is why we will be intensifying the efficiency program. To be perfectly frank: this will not be a painless process.

The automaker plans “massive cutbacks” according to Reuters, but Müller stopped short of outlining specifics to slow production or lay off workers. The 62-year-old CEO told workers that the company hasn’t calculated the final toll lying about pollution levels in 11 million cars would take on the company.

… while the technical solutions to these problems are imminent, it is not possible to quantify the commercial and financial implications at present.

Müller hinted at the possible fixes those Volkswagens, which were equipped with diesel engines that polluted up to 40 times the legal limits of nitrogen oxides, would undergo to bring them up to compliance with emissions standards.

In many instances a software update will be sufficient. Some vehicles, however, will also require hardware modifications. We will keep our customers constantly informed about the measures and arrange workshop appointments.

Volkswagen is due Thursday to submit a proposed fix to the German transportation authority for its cars. Bloomberg reported Monday that any potential fix could range from $22 to $11,200 for each car, which underscored the wide reach across multiple countries with different emissions standards Volkswagen needs to deal with in fixing 11 million cars.

Müller said projects that weren’t critical or “absolutely necessary” would be postponed or cancelled. And added that Volkswagen “must make massive savings to manage the consequences of this crisis.”

At least he didn’t give his speech on a Monday.