Crisis: Webasto boss Engelmann clears his post prematurely

CEO Holger Engelmann clears his post prematurely in the car supplier Webasto, which has become a renovation case. The 59 -year -old manager will leave for the weekend. Successor Jörg Buchheim will take over the chief position next Monday, as webasto announced. Supervisory Board and Engelmann had agreed with mutual agreement. At the end of 2023, the large supplier employed a good 16,000 employees worldwide at over 50 locations.

The right time nine months before the end of the contract

“It is now the right time for this important decision, since the upcoming phase of the restructuring requires personnel continuity,” said Engelmann, according to the message. His contract would actually have expired at the end of the year. Since 2013, Engelmann has headed the 124-year-old family company, whose most important products are sliding and panoramic roofs for cars. In addition, the company, based in Stockdorf, produces parking heaters and battery systems for electric cars. A great -grandson of the company founder Wilhelm Baier is still a co -owner and member of the supervisory board.

Webasto got into financial difficulties last year and had completed a stabilization agreement with the most important creditors in December. The situation is so difficult that the company had appointed the management consultant Johann Stohner to the board as “Chief Restructuring Officer” in January. A renovation report is currently in the works.

The now excreting Engelmann had expanded the Chinese business very strongly in the Reclosement of Golden 2010s, but the German car industry has fallen behind in its most important sales market as a whole. Chinese e-car manufacturers have now left the long-term German competitors. Webasto operates a total of nine locations in the People’s Republic, including seven works. Two locations have already been closed last year.

The future CEO Buchheim (57) is not a webasto man, but was fetched from the outside. According to Webasto, the studied electrical engineer has a “proven track record in the transformation and realignment of international automotive suppliers”. Buchheim is also familiar in East Asia, and he headed the Chinese business at one of his former employers.

The economic crisis hits several car suppliers even harder than the actual manufacturers. Significant suppliers not only produce parts, but have also been significantly involved in innovations in recent years. Several well -known companies, including Bosch and Continental, have announced far -reaching savings programs.