Volkswagen
Profile
Car manufacturer Volkswagen (which means “the people’s car” in German) was founded in 1934 as a prestige project of Adolf Hitler to develop a cheap vehicle that could be used by the general population. The first car that it manufactured was the Beetle that was built by migrant workers from Hungary, Poland and the Soviet Union as well as forced labor from concentration camps during World War II. Over the years, Volkswagen did business with the apartheid regime in South Africa as well as the Brazilian military dictatorship in 1964-1965, where it turned over trade unionists and suspected communist sympathizers to the police who then tortured them. The company has since agreed to compensate workers enslaved in Nazi Germany as well as victims of police torture in Brazil.
In recent years, Volkswagen has been forced to pay US$25 billion in fines, penalties, civil damages and restitution in the U.S. for the Dieselgate emissions scandal, after it secretly installed a “defeat” device into 11 million cars sold worldwide between 2008 and 2015 to make it appear that the vehicles did not exceed legal limits for pollution. This was despite the fact that some of the company’s cars were emitting up to 40 times greater than the maximum allowed for nitrogen oxide.
Cars, motorcycles, scooters, electric generators, water pumps, lawn and garden equipment, rotary tillers, outboard motors, robotics, jet aircraft, jet engines, solar cells
Violations
| TOP 5 OFFENSE GROUPS (GROUPS DEFINED) | PENALTY TOTAL | NUMBER OF RECORDS |
|---|---|---|
| environment-related offenses | $21,652,764,845 | 67 |
| consumer-protection-related offenses | $4,100,012,000 | 6 |
| safety-related offenses | $333,430,488 | 20 |
| government-contracting-related offenses | $50,000,000 | 1 |
| employment-related offenses | $10,568,172 | 15 |
(January 4, 2024)
Stories
EU fines Volkswagen, BMW $1 bln for emissions cartel
[1/6]A Volkswagen logo is seen as it launches its ID.6 and ID.6 CROZZ SUV at a world premiere ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show, in Shanghai, China April 18, 2021.
VW Escapes Multiple Fines In EU Over Emissions Scandal
Europe's top court ruled Wednesday that Volkswagen should not have to pay a €5 million ($5.3 million) fine levied by Italian enforcers over
China: Volkswagen under fire after audit finds no evidence of Uyghur forced labor
Experts cast doubt on results, saying leaked files show that Uyghur detainees were sent to the Xinjiang factory.
By Jilil Kashgary for RFA Uyghur
2023.12.07
Germany: Workers at VW subsidiary Cariad protest against job cuts
Over 200 employees of VW's CARIAD software division protested last Tuesday against threatened job cuts.
Germany: Scandal at Volkswagen subsidiary MOIA: The company is refusing to sign a collective agreement, but gets millions in state subsidies
Pee breaks for Moia drivers are now even headlines in Spiegel magazine and an issue in Hamburg's citizens: But what is it essentially about? In addition to the scandalous working and break conditions, the collective bar
VW owners affected by "Dieselgate" in Switzerland will not receive compensation
Swiss VW drivers come away empty-handed in the so-called Dieselgate scandal. The class action lawsuit filed in Germany by 2,000 owners of Volkswagen diesel vehicles with manipulated engines will be dropped without compensation.
Brazil: Volkswagen will pay more than R$10 million in labor lawsuits
Value corresponds to 34 agreements approved by the Superior Labor Court; another 28 cases are under negotiation Disclosure/Volkswagen POWER360 August 22, 2023 (Tuesday) - 1:30 pm Volkswagen must pay R$10.5 million in settlement of 34 labor cases at the TST ( Superior Labor Court).
UAW files unfair labor practice charges against Hyundai, Honda and Volkswagen
- The UAW has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen, the union said.
- The union alleges management at facilities for the companies have participated in illegal “union-busting as workers organize to join the
Inspired by Strike Wins, 1,000 Volkswagen Workers Sign Union Cards
Today workers at Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant announced their third bid to unionize plant-wide with the Auto Workers (UAW).
How VW tried to cover up the emissions scandal
image copyrightGetty Images
Overseer Faults Volkswagen’s Reform Efforts Since Emissions Scandal
FRANKFURT — Volkswagen’s attempt to remake its company culture and become more law abiding has received poor grades from the former United States prosecutor who is enforcing the carmaker’s compliance with a deal that settled emissions cheating charges.
- VW’s Carbon Footprint Sham: How Volkswagen is using an ineffective compensation project to shirk potential CO2 savings by Greenpeace (2020)
- Faster, Higher, Farther: The Inside Story of the Volkswagen Scandal by Jack Ewing (2017)
- Contesting Labor Internationalism: The “Old” Trapped in the “New” in Volkswagen’s South African Plant by Chris Bolsmann (2010)
- Driven by Corporate Responsibility? Ten Top Car Manufacturers--A CSR Analysis by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) (2010)
- Trade-Union Internationalism and Solidarity in the Struggle against Apartheid: A Case Study of Volkswagen by Chris Bolsmann (2007)
- Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile by Phil Patton (2002)
- The Volkswagen Factory and Its Workers in the Third Reich by Hans Mommsen & Manfred Grieger (1996)
Activism
USA: The UAW's decade-long fight to form a union at VW's Chattanooga plant
Amanda Aronczyk, Nick Fountain, Keith Romer, Willa Rubin | NPR | October 20, 2023
In this episode, we tell the story of the UAW's 10-year fight to unionize the Chattanooga plant. And, what other unions can learn from how badly that fight went for labor.
Germany: Climate protest at VW: activists try to stop production
RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland | August 14, 2023
On Monday, climate activists gained access to the VW plant in Wolfsburg as part of a group of visitors. The activists of the “Carfree Action” wanted to stick themselves to an assembly line and thus disrupt production.
Germany: Activists throw cake amid protest at Volkswagen meeting
DW | May 11, 2023
The climate change and human rights activists targeted Volkswagen executives at the German carmaker's AGM. One topless woman interrupted CEO Oliver Blume's speech with the words "Dirty Money" painted on her back.
Climate Activists in Germany Glued Themselves to the Volkswagen Showroom Floor
John Lopez | Tech Times | October 20, 2022
On Wednesday, Oct.19, climate protesters glued themselves to the Porsche pavilion floor at Volkswagen's Autostadt, joined by concerned researchers and environmental activists from an organization called Scientist Rebellion, to lobby their calls to decarbonize the German transportation sector.
USA: Police break up three-month protest outside VW dealership using Covid-19 regulations
James Baggot | Car Dealer Magazine | February 15, 2021
Two protesters who set up camp outside a VW dealership in London have been moved on by police using Covid-19 restrictions.
South Africa: Protest against dismissal of Volkswagen shop stewards
Thamsanqa Mbovane | GroundUp | February 3, 2021
About 30 members of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) protested outside Volkswagen South Africa’s main plant in Uitenhage on Wednesday morning.
South Africa: VW workers still seeking compensation after 20 years
Anna Majavuxx | Mail & Guardian | November 18, 2019
Hundreds of Eastern Cape auto workers are still fighting for compensation almost 20 years after Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) fired them for holding an unprotected strike.
German climate protesters block train carrying Volkswagen cars
DW | July 14, 2019
Dozens of climate protesters tied themselves to a train track in front of a freight train to protest the German government's 'failed climate policy.'
Anti-pollution activists stage protest at Volkswagen's UK headquarters
Matthew Taylor | The Guardian | August 20, 2018
Doctors and anti-pollution activists have blockaded the UK headquarters of Volkswagen as the campaign to highlight the country’s air pollution crisis gathers pace.
VW's Slovak workers strike over pay, halt production lines
Tatiana Jancarikova | Reuters | June 20, 2017
Volkswagen was hit by its first ever strike in Slovakia on Tuesday as workers began a walkout to demand a higher pay increase which could hurt the central European country's manufacturing output.
USA: Volkswagen fighting union vote at Tennessee plant
AL.com | April 25, 2016
Volkswagen on Monday announced plans to appeal a National Labor Relations Board ruling that upheld a unionization vote among a portion of workers at the German automaker's lone U.S. assembly plant in Tennessee.
France: Paris Is Covered In Fake Ads That Mock the Climate Talks' Corporate Sponsors
George Dvorsky | Gizmodo | December 1, 2015
Brandalism says the 600 fake ads critique “the corporate takeover of the COP21 climate talks,” while exposing “the links between advertising, consumerism, fossil fuel dependency and climate change.” Major brands like Volkswagen, Air France, Total, Dow Chemicals, and GDF Suez were among the many companies targeted.
International:
- Corporate Europe Observatory
- European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
- Extinction Rebellion
- Greenpeace International
- IndustriALL Global Union
- International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF)
- International Solidarity (InterSoli)
- Jewish Action to Stop Uyghur Persecution
- Scientist Rebellion
Germany:
- Car-free Action
- Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV)
- Forests Not Asphalt
- GermanWatch
- IG Metall
- The Last Generation
USA:
Other:
- Belgium - Belgian General Federation of Labour (FGTB/ABVV)
- Belgium - Centre for Equal Opportunities and Against Racism (UNIA)
- South Africa - National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)
- South Africa - South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU)
- UK - Brandalism
& Lawsuits
Volkswagen scandal: Top German court rules automaker must pay 'dieselgate' compensation
Kristie Pladson | DW | May 25, 2020
Germany's top civil court has ruled against Volkswagen in the first case brought by a car owner against the automaker for emissions test cheating. The ruling sets a precedent for thousands more cases.
Germany: Volkswagen pulls ad, apologizes for racist overtones
DW | May 20, 2020
After being criticized for their first statement regarding the controversial ad, VW has issued a second apology. The commercial contained references to colonialism and appeared to show a racial slur.
Germany: Volkswagen settles emissions class action with three-quarters of claimants
Reuters | April 20, 2020
Volkswagen has reached settlements with 200,000 of the 260,000 claimants participating in a class action lawsuit brought by German consumer group VZBV over the carmaker's rigging of diesel emissions tests, the carmaker said on Monday.
Volkswagen takes one-two punch in Australia with fine, lawsuit
Reuters | December 19, 2019
Volkswagen AG took two raps in Australia on Friday as a court slapped a A$125 million ($86 million) fine on the German car maker as part of a global emissions cheating scandal and a regulator launched a civil lawsuit against a unit.
UK: Philadelphia and VW ads banned for gender stereotyping
BBC | August 14, 2019
Television advertisements from US food giant Mondelez and German carmaker Volkswagen are the first to be banned under new UK gender stereotyping rules.
Germany: Hitler and 'his Volkswagen'
Astrid Prange | DW | May 26, 2018
The VW Beetle has the Nazis to thank for its existence. Adolf Hitler laid the cornerstone of the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg 80 years ago. Here, a critical retrospective of a German success story.
USA: How VW Paid $25 Billion for Dieselgate — And Got Off Easy
Roger Parloff | ProPublica | February 6, 2018
Volkswagen paid huge government penalties in the U.S., but virtually nothing in Europe. Two things now seem clear: Some very senior officials knew of the wrongdoing — and they’re not likely to face meaningful prison time.
USA: Six Volkswagen executives charged with fraud over emissions cheating
Kevin Rawlinson | The Guardian | January 11, 2017
Six former Volkswagen executives are being charged over their alleged roles in the 2015 emissions scandal, as the company admits liability and is ordered to pay a record $4.3bn (£3.5bn) penalty, US officials have said.
Germany: VW 'Dieselgate' software developed at Audi in 1999: report
Reuters | April 19, 2016
German carmaker Audi created so-called defeat devices which cut emissions in 1999, years before parent company Volkswagen used them to cheat diesel emissions tests, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.
German state files criminal complaint after VW file disappears
Julia Löhr | The Guardian | October 21, 2015
The Volkswagen scandal has taken a new twist, as a file on the case mysteriously disappeared from the state chancellery of Lower Saxony, where the company has its headquarters.
Germany: VW Sex and Bribery Scandal: Sentences Handed Down in Corruption Affair
Der Spiegel | February 22, 2008
A German court convicted two senior Volkswagen executives on Friday in a bribery and corruption case at Europe's biggest car-maker. One executive is on his way to jail while another, who threw lavish sex parties for works council members, was also sentenced.
South Africa: Apartheid: Volkswagen Apologizes
Der Spiegel | July 31, 1994
The German automobile manufacturers, who for years maintained good contacts with the Apartheid regime for the benefit of their subsidiary "Volkswagen of South Africa" and were criticized for this worldwide, now want to participate in economic and social development.
Environmental Impacts
The Volkswagen greenwashing scandal – and how to avoid it in your business carbon offsetting plans
Tabitha Whiting | Lune | June 15, 2022
Volkswagen is infamous in the climate world. But for all the wrong reasons. Their company offsetting was widely criticised as being nothing more than greenwashing – here's why.
'The Sacrifice Zone': Myanmar bears cost for green energy
Dake Kang, Victoria Milko & Lori Hinnant | AP News | August 9, 2022
[Rare earths] end up in the supply chains of some of the most prominent companies in the world, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Tesla and Apple. But an AP investigation has found that their universal use hides a dirty open secret in the industry: Their cost is environmental destruction, the theft of land from villagers and the funneling of money to brutal militias, including at least one linked to Myanmar’s secretive military government.
Germany: VW suspends media chief amid scandal over fume tests on monkeys
Kate Connolly | The Guardian | January 30, 2018
The carmaker Volkswagen has suspended its head of external relations and sustainability after admitting that he had known about experiments in which monkeys were locked in small chambers and exposed to diesel exhaust.
USA: VW executive given the maximum prison sentence for his role in Dieselgate
Sean O'Kane | The Verge | December 6, 2017
The man who was in charge of Volkswagen’s US environmental and engineering office before the Dieselgate scandal has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Oliver Schmidt had previously pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act and conspiracy to defraud the US government in August for his role in Dieselgate, where VW was found to have used hidden software to hide the fact that many of its cars weren’t meeting emissions standards.
How Many Deaths Did Volkswagen’s Deception Cause in the U.S.?
John Schwartz | The New York Times | September 28, 2015
Volkswagen’s diesel deception unleashed tons of extra pollutants in the United States, pollutants that can harm human health. So while many commentators have been quick to say that the cheating engines are not a highway safety concern, safety — as in health — is still an issue.
Germany: Germanwatch Raises Complaint Against Volkswagen
Germanwatch | May 1, 2007
Germanwatch accuses the company of violating the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The guidelines are supposed to contribute to implementing corporate accountability - in the field of environmental protection amongst others -, and they provide multinational enterprises with detailed instructions on how to act.
Volkswagen of America, Inc. Agrees to Pay Over $1 Million for Clean Air Act Violation
U.S. Department of Justice | June 15, 2005
Under the agreement, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Volkswagen will pay $1.1 million to resolve its failure to promptly notify and correct a defective oxygen sensor affecting at least 326,000 of their 1999, 2000 and 2001 Golfs, Jettas, and New Beetles. This is the largest civil penalty to date for this type of violation.
& Relations
Germany: Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes hit by Xinjiang forced labour complaint
Yuan Yang & Patricia Nilsson | Financial Times | June 20, 2023
On Tuesday, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, a non-profit organisation based in Berlin, said it had filed a complaint with German regulators against Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz alleging their links with forced labour in China’s region of Xinjiang.
Brazil: Prosecutors' Office is investigating Volkswagen for slave labor
Nexo | May 31, 2022
The German company is accused of using slavery-like practices and human trafficking during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s.
Volkswagen to compensate workers over Brazil torture
BBC | September 24, 2020
German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) says it will pay $6.4m (£5m) in compensation to former workers at a Brazilian factory who sued the company for collaborating with the country's military during the 1964-1985 dictatorship.
USA: Volkswagen Agrees to Settle Age Discrimination Suit for $995K
Brianna Smith | Law Reader | February 7, 2020
Earlier this week, Volkswagen agreed to settle an age discrimination lawsuit for $995,000. The suit was filed by Volkswagen employees over allegations that a Chatanooga Volkswagen plant took part in age discrimination in its hiring and promotion procedures.
USA: On Eve of Union Vote, Chattanooga VW Workers Describe Rampant Workplace Injuries
Chris Brooks | Labor Notes | June 11, 2019
“My co-workers are getting hurt, I’ve been hurt, there is constant threat of injury, and if it doesn’t change, none of us will survive,” said one worker who’s been at Volkswagen for eight years but asked to remain anonymous for fear of management retaliation.
Volkswagen CEO 'not aware’ of Uighurs detained in China’s Xinjiang, despite having a factory there
Rick Noack | The Washington Post | April 17, 2019
As a company rooted in Nazi Germany, German car manufacturer Volkswagen might be expected to have a somewhat more sensitive approach to ethics than its competitors.
USA: Volkswagen boss apologises for Nazi gaffe
Joe Miller | BBC | March 14, 2019
The chief executive of Volkswagen has apologised for evoking a Nazi slogan to describe the importance of boosting the group's profits. Herbert Diess used the line "Ebit macht frei" at a company event on Tuesday. The phrase echoes the maxim "Arbeit Macht Frei" - meaning "work sets you free" - which was famously emblazoned in wrought-iron on the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
VW Chops Labor Costs in U.S.
Mike Ramsey | The Wall Street Journal | May 23, 2011
Volkswagen AG on Tuesday will celebrate the opening of a new Tennessee auto plant that gives the German auto maker much lower U.S. labor costs than not only its Detroit rivals but its Japanese competitors on American soil.
Germany: VW Presses for Increased Work Week at Same Pay
DW | June 13, 2006
Extending the work week from the current 28.8 hours to 35 without concomitant pay increases essentially amounts to a 20 percent pay reduction for workers.
South Africa: Interview with a South African Volkswagen worker: "Working conditions are worse now than they were under the apartheid regime"
Dietmar Henning & Andreas Kuckartz | World Socialist Web Site | April 29, 2000
Binisile Mzeku visited Germany at the end of March as part of a world-wide tour. Mzeku is one of 1,300 workers who have been fired by the Volkswagen works in Uitenhage, South Africa. Workers had gone on strike to protest the expulsion from the trade union of 13 factory representatives elected last year.
Germany: Volkswagen, in Shift, Will Set Up Fund for Slave Workers
The New York Times | July 8, 1998
In an abrupt reversal from a decision a month ago, Volkswagen A.G. has agreed to set up a fund to compensate workers who were forced into slave labor in World War II.
USA: Discrimination Suit Is Settled
The New York Times | April 19, 1989
Volkswagen of America Inc. has agreed to pay $670,000 and the United Auto Workers $48,000 to settle claims that they discriminated against black employees, a spokesman for the automaker said today.
Financials
Click here for the latest list.
Political Influence
Open Secrets - Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians.
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Volkswagen
Investors turn to courts after VW withholds climate lobbying details
ClientEarth | October 19, 2022
Volkswagen AG is facing a legal action by institutional shareholders after it refused repeated attempts to reveal crucial information on its corporate climate lobbying.
Europe: Power of car industry lobby makes scandal inevitable
Corporate Europe Observatory | September 29, 2015
Volkswagen is by far the biggest spender, with almost €3.5 million spend in 2014, almost five times the spending of the biggest non-German manufacturer, Fiat-Chrysler (€700,000).
& Evasion
USA: Ex-VW CEO to face charges of organised commercial fraud
Reuters | September 15, 2020
Former Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn will face charges of conspiracy to commit organised commercial fraud with a high likelihood of conviction, a court probing the carmaker's diesel emissions scandal said on Wednesday.
Auto giant Volkswagen caught in Luxembourg tax scheme
Der Spiegel, Blaz Zgaga (Nacional), EIC Network | October 27, 2017
The chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen (VW), Hans Dieter Poetsch, has an aversion to big corporations using offshore tax schemes.
German prosecutors launch tax evasion probe at Volkswagen
Reuters | November 24, 2015
German prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspected tax evasion in connection with cheating on emissions tests by Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, adding to the intense scrutiny of Europe's biggest carmaker.
Germany: New electric vehicle plant in Wolfsburg: Justified protest
Marco Frundt | TAZ | September 29, 2022
The environmental activists want to “bring social and ecological struggles together,” he says. Not only climate activists not only protested against the construction of the "Trinity" plant, but also residents and agricultural workers, who did not want a 130-hectare concrete area in front of their door.
USA: Volkswagen’s required $800-million investment in California draws criticism
Chris Megerian | LA Times | April 6, 2017
Unlike other penalties that Volkswagen must pay, the company has more control over how the $800 million will be spent, and it’s allowed to profit from the charging stations it’s required to install.
Germany: When Porsche once wanted to take over Volkswagen
Annika Grah | DW | July 23, 2019
It was a coup that legendary Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking landed when he took over Volkswagen. In the end everything turned out differently. The case still occupies the courts in Stuttgart and Wolfsburg to this day.
Procurement
Volkswagen contracts with the U.S. Federal Government (via USA SPENDING).