Wiedeking can get away with this because he has the backing of the Porsche family, which still holds a controlling interest.

Yes, if it was down to institutional shareholders, he'd be out of a job. Gotta watch the bottom line (and race towards the bottom).

It reminds me of CostCo in America. It's like an ehtical version of Wal-Mart and is very succesful, not just because of the relatively low prices but because a lot of its customers appreciate that plentiful well-treated staff provide a better shopping experience.

Yet two years ago they were threatened by institutional shareholders who felt that labour costs were too high compared with Wal-Mart and demanded a more aggressive policy in terms of wages and training. I think they got away from the threat, but I'm not sure how.

keep to the Fen Causeway