Volkswagen offers amnesty to whistleblowers
Volkswagen has announced an amnesty programme for whistleblowers that will expire at the end of the month. People who provide information will not be fined or face damage claims, although the company cannot shield employees from criminal charges. The offer applies only to workers who are covered by collective bargaining agreements and excludes top management. Corporate amnesty programs are rare, but one was used successfully in Germany by Siemens in 2008.

Volkswagen also admitted, just last week, that it underreported levels of carbon dioxide produced by about 800,000 of its diesel and gasoline vehicles in Europe and that had it exaggerated their fuel economy.

The company has yet to explain publicly who was responsible for installing software in 11 million diesel vehicles that was designed to disguise the output of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant harmful to the lungs.

FRANKFURT — Volkswagen, trying to get to the bottom of its emissions cheating scandal, on Thursday pressured employees to tell what they know, announcing an amnesty program for informants that will expire at the end of the month.

Advertisement

In a letter to employees on Thursday, Herbert Diess, chief executive of the division that produces Volkswagen brand cars, said that people who provided information would not be fired or face damage claims. Diess cautioned, though, that the company could not shield employees from criminal charges.

Get Trendlines A business newsletter from Globe Columnist Larry Edelman covering the trends shaping business and the economy in Boston and beyond. Enter Email Sign Up

The amnesty offer is valid through Nov. 30, Diess wrote, according to excerpts from the letter seen by The New York Times. The offer applies only to workers who are covered by collective bargaining agreements; it excludes top management.

While corporate amnesty programs are rare, the approach has been used successfully in Germany at least once before. Siemens, an electronics and engineering company based in Munich, used such an offer in 2008 to encourage employees to provide information in an investigation into bribery of officials abroad. Dozens of employees came forward.

“It is not a common practice,” said Alexandra Wrage, president of Trace International, a company in Annapolis, Md., that provides advice to companies on compliance issues. “When there has been a protracted climate of secrecy or fear, this can be a very effective tool. It’s a tacit admission, however, that the usual reporting channels have been ineffective.”

At Volkswagen, an internal whistle-blower was responsible for uncovering the exaggerated carbon dioxide and fuel economy claims, which the company disclosed last week. But German media reports have said that internal investigators looking into the emissions cheating software, which came to light in September, have been hampered by a reluctance among employees to come forward.

Advertisement

By setting a tight deadline, Volkswagen is evidently trying to pressure those with knowledge to speak soon. The internal investigation is being conducted by Jones Day, a law firm.

“Every single day counts,” Diess wrote. “We are counting on your cooperation and knowledge as our company’s employees to get to the bottom of the diesel and CO2 issue.”

Volkswagen previously had an internal ombudsman’s office that employees could go to with concerns. But the company did not have a formal amnesty program until Thursday.

Analysts and people with knowledge of the investigation said it was likely that a substantial number of people were involved in creating and installing the software, and that an even larger group was aware of it and failed to take action. The software was installed on several generations and types of diesel engines from the 2009-15 model years.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig, a city near Volkswagen’s base in Wolfsburg, have been investigating the case, but have not made any arrests.

Although the company said it could not offer amnesty from criminal prosecution, if employees who come forward later faced criminal charges, “we will draw the attention of the authorities to the willingness to cooperate,” Diess wrote.