The former CEO will be paid a record salary for 2022.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Herbert Diess has officially been rid of his position as VW boss since September 1st – the 64-year-old top manager still received a record salary last year. This shows Volkswagen’s remuneration report, which the group published on Tuesday together with its annual report.
According to this, Diess received 11.6 million euros, including expenses for future pensions. Without pension entitlements, the former CEO comes to ten million euros – more than ever before.
The reason for the record remuneration is the good business result at Germany’s largest car manufacturer. VW had increased sales and profits in 2022 despite the Ukraine war, supply bottlenecks and the energy crisis. This also increases the remuneration of the members of the Management Board.
According to the remuneration report, Diess would theoretically have been granted more than 13 million euros, but VW’s remuneration system prefers to cap cash remuneration at ten million euros. Diess fully exploited this limit for the first time.
Ex-VW boss Diess: Among the top earners in the Dax
Not all Dax companies have published their annual reports for 2022 yet. With his salary, however, the former VW boss should end up among the top earners in Germany’s first stock exchange league, even though he wasn’t active as CEO all year.
In any case, Diess received more than his successor Oliver Blume in 2022. According to the remuneration report, Blume’s salary including pension expenses was 7.39 million euros, without retirement benefits it was 6.4 million euros. Since September, Blume has been leading the Volkswagen Group to his top position at the sports car manufacturer Porsche.
In 2017, after much criticism, Volkswagen revised its management board remuneration system. A key component is the cap on salaries: The CEO only receives a maximum of ten million euros per year plus pension entitlements. For the other board members, the limit is 5.5 million euros.
Since then, the payment of bonuses has also been subject to stricter criteria. The group must earn at least nine billion euros from operations and the margin must be at least four percent.
Diess came to VW from BMW in 2015 and became CEO in 2018. According to company circles, the 64-year-old will initially remain employed as a regular consultant at VW until his contract ends in autumn 2025 and will continue to be paid.
More: VW has to cut the salaries of the works councils from February.