VW Labor Leaders May Back IPO For Heavy Truck Unit

Top-level VW works council delegation met investors in London
Labor roadshow triggered external praise, internal friction

Heavy goods trucks stand inside the MAN SE forum at the headquarters of Volkswagen AG's commercial-vehicle unit in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. An index of German manufacturing activity published on Monday declined to a three-month low, with new orders falling to the weakest level since September.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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By Christoph Rauwald and Eyk Henning

November 24, 2017 at 7:00 AM UTC

Updated on

November 24, 2017 at 8:39 AM UTC

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Volkswagen AG’s influential labor leaders are open to granting the heavy-trucks division more independence, potentially leading to a share or bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

In a rare move for German labor representatives, a top-level delegation led by VW works council chief and supervisory board member Bernd Osterloh this week discussed the future of the division as well as topics from the role of unions to cost savings, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the meetings weren’t public.