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Bloomberg
A Tennessee employee of Volkswagen AG sued the automaker and alleged that it has been systematically discriminating against older workers in wake of a massive emissions scandal that tarnished company’s reputation. Jonathan Manlove, former assistant manager in logistics at the automaker’s Tennessee plant, said he was demoted as part of company’s effort to shed its “old diesel image†and appear more like a “modern, young firm focussed on productivity, efficiency and technology,†according to a complaint filed in Chattanooga federal court.
Manlove, 53, said his demotion was part of a “company-wide†effort to eliminate older employees from its ranks, and replace them with younger workers. Although the company announced its policy would be implemented through “natural fluctuations,†it instead began purging older workers through coercive practices, Manlove says.
Volkswagen has incurred about $30 billion in expenses since admitting in 2015 that it installed software on about 11 million diesel cars that allowed vehicles to detect when they were being tested in laboratory conditions, seeking to boost sales of “clean diesel†automobiles that would conform to more strict emissions standards and appeal to consumers with environmental concerns.