William J. Young, president and chief executive... - Los Angeles Times
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William J. Young, president and chief executive...

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Associated Press

William J. Young, president and chief executive of Volkswagen of America, quit Tuesday, apparently the latest casualty in a far-reaching management shake-up of Europe’s largest auto maker.

Young, 50, will return to an automotive consulting business he started in Los Angeles in 1983.

Young’s resignation, which caught Auburn Hills-based Volkswagen of America by surprise, was the latest in a series of moves that so far have mainly affected its German parent.

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“This is curious in that it is coming ahead of a lot more changes,†said Christopher Will, an auto industry analyst in the London office of Lehman Bros. Inc. “It may be a few months yet before we see the strategy behind all that is happening.â€

Young, who began his career at Volkswagen in 1971, left the company in 1983 to form W.J. Young & Associates. He rejoined Volkswagen in 1989 as vice president in charge of Volkswagen United States.

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