Volkswagen CEO abruptly resigns

BERLIN — Herbert Diess, who helped restore Volkswagen’s reputation after a costly and embarrassing diesel emissions scandal, resigned unexpectedly Friday after a tenure marked by friction with the carmaker’s powerful labor union.

The CEO’s resignation is sure to raise fresh questions about the company’s convoluted governance structure, an uneasy balance of power among labor representatives, local government and descendants of Ferdinand Porsche, who oversaw construction of the Beetle in the 1930s.

The giant automaker said Diess would leave at the end of August, without giving a reason for his departure. He will be succeeded by Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche, the company’s profitable sports car unit.