Volkswagen of America CEO Stefan Jacoby will start his new job on Sept. 1. But he flew into Volkswagen's Auburn Hills (Mich.) headquarters the week of July 9 to meet with the senior management team he is inheriting.
It's no wonder he's in a hurry to start work. Volkswagen lost almost $900 million last year in the U.S., and around the same the year before. This year, sales of Volkswagens are flat, the U.S. dollar is a little weaker than it was last year against the euro, and VW has had a heck of a time finding more fixed costs to cut in its American operation. That is going to make it awfully difficult to reach new Volkswagen Chairman Martin Winterkorn's target of breakeven in the U.S. by 2009.
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