Another senior staffer from Volkswagen may be jumping ship in the near future, with reports suggesting that the company's brand chief, Wolfgang Bernhard, is seriously considering stepping out because of the appointment of Martin Winterkorn as the new CEO. Local sources have alleged that Bernhard had already threatened to resign if Winterkorn became the company's new head, and now that Bernd Pischetsrieder is out, relations between Bernhard and Winterkorn are at an all time low.
VW declined to comment on the issue, but it's well known that Bernhard is one of the company's star managers. Bernhard is responsible for delivering a forecasted $9 billion in gross earnings improvements for VW by 2008 and was originally chosen by Pischetsrieder.
Like the recently renounced CEO, Bernhard also favored cutting down on employees and extending working hours at six of VW's German plants.
