Volkswagen diesel scandal: Braunschweig trial of managers
Braunschweig trial targets Volkswagen mid-level managers over diesel cheating software
Volkswagen diesel scandal: Braunschweig trial of managers
Braunschweig opens a major trial in the Volkswagen diesel scandal, targeting mid-level managers accused of approving emissions-cheating software. More inside.
2025-11-14T03:43:34+03:00
2025-11-14T03:43:34+03:00
2025-11-14T03:43:34+03:00
Although Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg has long shifted toward electrification and new projects, neighboring Braunschweig still lives in the shadow of the diesel scandal. A major trial is starting here, with four men and one woman taking their seats in the dock — all of them either former or, at the time, serving mid-level managers at the group. Prosecutors say the managers knew about manipulations in diesel engine software that allowed real emissions to appear lower during tests.Unlike earlier headline cases that centered on the top leadership, this proceeding zeroes in on the second line of management. Investigators say it was these employees who made the key calls to introduce and run the cheating software and who gave approval to technologies that breached environmental rules. It’s a revealing shift in focus: this is the layer where lofty strategies turn into code and practice, and where an organization’s culture usually shows through.The trial is expected to be lengthy: the defense points to the technical complexity of the evidence and to responsibility being spread across numerous departments. Even so, the prosecution maintains that each defendant exercised real managerial authority and had the ability to stop the wrongdoing.
Braunschweig opens a major trial in the Volkswagen diesel scandal, targeting mid-level managers accused of approving emissions-cheating software. More inside.
Michael Powers, Editor
Although Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg has long shifted toward electrification and new projects, neighboring Braunschweig still lives in the shadow of the diesel scandal. A major trial is starting here, with four men and one woman taking their seats in the dock — all of them either former or, at the time, serving mid-level managers at the group. Prosecutors say the managers knew about manipulations in diesel engine software that allowed real emissions to appear lower during tests.
Unlike earlier headline cases that centered on the top leadership, this proceeding zeroes in on the second line of management. Investigators say it was these employees who made the key calls to introduce and run the cheating software and who gave approval to technologies that breached environmental rules. It’s a revealing shift in focus: this is the layer where lofty strategies turn into code and practice, and where an organization’s culture usually shows through.
The trial is expected to be lengthy: the defense points to the technical complexity of the evidence and to responsibility being spread across numerous departments. Even so, the prosecution maintains that each defendant exercised real managerial authority and had the ability to stop the wrongdoing.
