Is Volkswagen's Corporate Culture To Blame For The Emissions Scandal?

Published December 17, 2015 at 1:52 PM EST

A car departs from an entrance gate at the Volkswagen factory and company headquarters on October 21, 2015 in Wolfsburg, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Volkswagen is further shaking up its senior management team in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal. It’s part of an ongoing effort by VW to overhaul what analysts see as a dysfunctional corporate culture.

The company also announced it has retained lawyer Kenneth Feinberg to “design and administer” a claims resolution program for aggrieved VW diesel owners. The European Parliament said today that it will investigate whether European Union regulators were too lax in their oversight.

Robert Wright, U.S. industry correspondent for the Financial Times, talks with Here & Now’s Eric Westervelt about how the company culture there might have contributed to the emissions cheating.

Guest

Robert Wright, U.S. industry correspondent for the Financial Times. He tweets @RKWinvisibleman.

Host

Eric Westervelt, correspondent for NPR and guest host for Here & Now. He tweets @Ericnpr.