The next day,Diess,who took over the company last year as part of efforts to move past its emissions scandal,posted an apology on his LinkedIn page.
"I did not in any way intend for this comment to be set in a false context,"Diess said."I did not think of such a possibility at the time I said it."
Diess said his use of the phrase had been in reference to brands within the Volkswagen Group that make more profit and therefore have more freedom to make decisions in the group,which includes the Audi,Porsche and Skoda brands,in addition to Volkswagen.
"It was a very unfortunate choice of words,"Diess said in his apology."If I unintentionally hurt feelings with it,I am extremely sorry."
Last week,Volkswagen said that it would cut up to 7,000 positions to bolster productivity and deliver €5.9 billion (about $9.4 billion) of annual savings at its core brand by 2023.
Some of those present at the Volkswagen event told theGerman newsmagazine Der Spiegel that many in the audience had been embarrassed or angry about the remarks.