DaimlerChrysler Urged to Explain Schrempp Exit

German Economy and Labour Minister Wolfgang Clement urged German-US car maker DaimlerChrysler Monday to reveal the reasons behind the shock decision of its chief executive Jürgen Schrempp to step down early. Clement said that DaimlerChrysler could put an end to the feverish speculation as to why Schrempp was quitting by coming clean about the reasons behind the departure, announced unexpectedly last Thursday. "Transparency is the best answer to all speculation," Clement said. That was the opinion of EU industry commissioner Günter Verheugen and he, too, shared that opinion, the German minister said. Verheugen had told the Sunday newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, that DaimlerChrysler should make public Schrempp's reasons for quitting. "I would always advise to explain these sort of decisions very thoroughly in order to avoid opening the door to wild speculation," Verheugen said. In a shock announcement last Thursday, Schrempp said he would step down at the end of the year, three years before the end of his contract.