Both Porsche and the state of Lower Saxony have submitted proposals to change Volkswagen’s Articles of Association at the company’s annual general meeting on 24 April.
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Porsche is calling for the Articles of Association to be changed so that a majority of 75% would be needed to carry forward major decisions rather than 80% as is the case now.
Porsche says this change would reflect the judgement of the European Court of Justice in October last year, which ruled as illegal the so-called VW Law, which restricts the voting rights of any major shareholder to 20%.
Porsche owns 30.6% of the shares in VW and plans to increase this to over 50%. German legislators are rushing through an alternative VW Law, which would still guarantee the State of Lower Saxony a blocking majority, with its 20% share and voting rights.
The State of Lower Saxony has itself requested changes to the Articles of Association that would preserve its blocking majority. It says it will however agree to drop statutes that give the state the right to name VW board members and that limit individual voting rights at 20%.
A Porsche spokesman told Reuters that the automaker expects both proposals will fail.
Last week Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn welcomes his company’s new owner. “A new automobile enterprise is now taking shape that will open an entirely new era,” he said. “Our competitors understand the enormous potential of this partnership,” he added.
Unions are not so happy. They fear they will lose their influence over the management of the group. Works council chief Bernd Osterloh has refered to the takeover as ‘hostile’ because Porsche has not attempted to win over workers. Porsche’s attempts to limit the power of the State of Lower Saxony, whose main interest in retaining employment in its region, is also of concern to employees.
