Herbert Diess is either clueless or extraordinarily tone deaf. Either way, his ability to lead a renaissance at Volkswagen, the world’s largest carmaker, is now in doubt.
Last week, Mr Diess repeatedly used the phrase Ebit macht frei (earnings before interest and taxes set you free) at a management meeting. His phrasing had, to put it politely, an unfortunate echo of Arbeit Macht Frei (work sets you free), the Nazi slogan that adorned the entrance to Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
That would be a terrible mistake for anyone to make. But the impact is heightened when the speaker heads a company that was founded at the behest of Adolf Hitler and relied on concentration camp labour during its early days.
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