Mercedes Chairman Stepping Down

Mercedes-Benz Chairman Helmut Werner announced his resignation rather than see his power eroded in a plan to end the luxury car and truck maker’s independence from Daimler-Benz. Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler-Benz said Werner had refused to take a different job on its management board. Chairman Juergen Schrempp has issued a reorganization plan that calls for folding the cash-cow Mercedes, which became a separate division in 1989, back into the weaker parent company. Werner has opposed Schrempp’s plan but said he believes that Mercedes’ importance wouldn’t be diminished by being reintegrated into Daimler.