Volkswagen Lawsuit Update: Emission Testing Scandal Is Getting Worse

A prosecutor released a statement that Volkswagen's emission testing scandal now involves more employees. The automaker's progress in fixing the problem is also reportedly transitioning from bad to worst.

At the end of fourth quarter last year, Volkswagen made the headlines as the company cheated on the emission test for their car models in the United States. According to Business Insider, Klaus Ziehe, released a statement revealing that 17 employees are now involved with the emission testing scandal. The numbers of employees increased by 50 percent as only six of them were previously reported.

"This is part of the diesel investigation," prosecutor Klaus Ziehe said on Tuesday. "The number of suspects has risen, although none are from the management board."

Matthew Muller, Volkswagen's CEO, told the employees during a gathering on March 8, Tuesday, that the emission scandal would create a major impact on the company in terms of their financial status. He even emphasized that the scandal would affect Volkswagen for a long period of time as they would have to own up to their mistakes.

"We will this year probably every now and then be confronted with unpleasant news related to dieselgate," Stephan Weil, prime minister of Lower Saxony said during a gathering. "The damage will, on balance, not be minor, as much as that can already be said today, but Volkswagen luckily has a strong economic substance."

The Guardian then released an updated report, stating that Volkswagen's president and chief executive decided to leave his post just a few months after the scandal reached its peak. Volkswagen Group of America's president and chief executive officer since 2014, Michael Horn, left the company "to pursue other opportunities effective immediately."

The report was released by Volkswagen during a press conference. It was also mentioned that Horn could not be contacted for comments right after his immediate resignation took effect.