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Volkswagen has hired Bridge Public Affairs, the Chattanooga-based firm founded by three aides to former Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.
The German auto giant opened a factory in Chattanooga in 2011. The facility indirectly/directly supports 16,400 jobs and generates more than $75M in annual state and local taxes, according to a study by Ernst & Young.
Bridge PA's Todd Womack, Corker's former chief of staff; Micah Johnson, communications director; and John Goetz, legislative aide, handle US Congressional and regulatory outreach for Volkswagen. Republican Corker did not seek re-election in 2018.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15 accused Volkswagen of "massive fraud" and lying to investors in the ongoing diesel emissions scandal that affected 11M cars.
It seeks to recover "ill-gotten gains."
Volkswagen in a statement accused the SEC of "piling on to extract more from the company."
The carmaker last month unveiled plans to cut 5,000 to 7,000 workers from its global payroll by 2023 as part of its transformation to become more agile and efficient for the electric and digital era.
Senior-most communications executives in the Fortune 500 earned between $50,000 and $100,000 more this year than they did two years ago, according to a recent survey of chief communications officers.
The pressure is on PR pros to make sure corporate messaging remains clear and cohesive. Business jargon is an obstacle to achieving this goal.
In today's volatile world of constant disruption, the ability to offer reliability and dependability is more valuable than ever.
