MMK 2022 Interview von Prof. Dr. Asenkerschbaumer

Asenkerschbaumer, I have to confess, I practiced yesterday evening to get it across properly.

Yes, there is a short link: 'eiern' and 'hasen baum' is a combination. They are support pillars in wooden houses, and part of the family is active in carpentry and interior design. Apparently, they had worked with cherry trees in the past, in Bavarian 'Kerschbaum', and that's the combination. It has nothing to do with being a precautionary manager or gods; it has more mundane reasons: cherry tree and carpentry. How did I end up at Bosch? Well, that's difficult. The company was simply fascinating. I think all young people ask themselves where to find an inspiring company. For me back then, two points were essential: firstly, the impressive internationalization of the Bosch Group, starting already at the beginning of the 20th century. That was very impressive. At that time, Germany had 80% exports. And secondly, naturally, there is a special corporate legal structure at Bosch. The main owner of Robert Bosch GmbH is the foundation. The foundation now holds 94% of the shares, the best part is with the family, and then there is a very small portion with the so-called 'Industrietreuhand'. The entrepreneurial leadership lies with the Industrietreuhand. That was the will of Robert Bosch: on the one hand, the social orientation through the foundation, and on the other hand, entrepreneurial responsibility, but that was separated. Family representatives are indeed on the supervisory boards, but no one from the family is in operational responsibility. However, the relationship with the family is wonderful. It's a nice story how Bosch defines itself from these two pillars, interesting to know.

First of all, perhaps one point is also very important: the care for our employees. I believe that when such crises occur, like with Corona, our first duty as a company is always: what can we do for our employees and what can we do for those who are now massively affected? And then we do a lot. Besides that, when you speak of employees, there are some in Russia, yes, also in Ukraine. In Russia, we have nearly 4,000 employees. In Ukraine, we have fewer, around 400, actually between 300 and 400.

So we are currently continuing production on a limited scale. Whether it will be continued in the medium term depends on how the situation develops. It is always a balancing act between commitment to the employees who work for us and, of course, a clear message against the background of current developments. Yes, and I think finding this balance is extremely difficult.

I think it's not just about us, but about heavily burdening the whole industry. We're talking not only about semiconductors; this morning it was said that cable harnesses, which naturally have an essential base in Ukraine, but also the entire raw material supplies that come from Russia into the European Union in the area of iron ore, and also in the area of certain metal alloys like aluminum. That would certainly lead to significant problems in the overall supply of the entire industry.

Yes, there are scenarios, but every scenario has massive risks. You have to know that. We have ugly risks, especially price risks, but I think regardless of price, it's the question of availability of materials. So we already have a situation that involves extreme risks, and there is not a sufficiently valid solution for every risk.

At Bosch, we have very different business areas. Perhaps as a reminder: we have a large automotive division. In the automotive division, metals and metal alloys are essential. Then we have an industrial division, where it's more about access to customers. And the other area is consumer goods, i.e., household appliances and so on. There, it's more about the sales market and also production sites. We have seven production plants in Russia alone and a total of nearly 40 locations. So that already creates a big hole if that were to happen.

Very intensively. We have daily contact. When the war in Ukraine started, we immediately maintained communication channels to our employees, multiple times a day. We then offered solutions: we provided money, we provided vehicles for families who wanted to leave, we organized travel, we provided accommodation in neighboring countries, and we asked our own families and employees to take in Ukrainian employees. It's a whole set of different measures. And I believe that especially in a crisis, what we would also wish is that there are people who maintain communication in times of crisis and at least try to do everything that can help.

First of all, I have to say I am shocked and I never thought that such a war could happen again in Europe. I never thought that, despite all risk models. But such a risk was never considered. How does it look? I think we are well advised to continue using all diplomatic channels. Whether they will actually have the effect we would like, I think we all don't know that; it's pure speculation. And I think we simply have to prepare for different scenarios, but we hope that there will be a reasonable solution, especially with regard to the people, that reduces suffering and naturally also minimizes the economic consequences from an economic perspective. Yes, because this could already lead to a significant economic effect in Europe and worldwide.