Daimler Executive in China Fired After Racist Rant During Parking Lot Rage in Shanghai

November 22, 2016

One automotive executive in China has learned the hard way to keep his cool — especially when you;re working for an iconic company in a foreign country.

German automaker Daimler AG removed Rainer Gartner from his position as Head of Daimler Trucks & Buses China Ltd. after his racist remarks went viral over Chinese social media.

According to Shanghaiist, Gartner was recently involved in a parking lot dispute at the exclusive Beijing River Garden in Shunyi District. His outburst began when he allegedly stole a space from another resident to park his Mercedes Benz and they confronted him.

This situation eventually led Gartner to launch racist remarks. In addition, he is also accused of using pepper spray when other residents got involved in the conflict.

“I am in China one year already. The first thing I learned here is: All you Chinese are bastards,” Gartner allegedly said to the other driver.

Obviously for Daimler, which is the parent company of Mercedes Benz, this is not the image that they want their customers to see, especially in a market as big as China. To address the issue, the company released a statement, apologizing for the remarks and declaring that Gartner has been fired from his position in China and will be transferred elsewhere.

“The nature of the dispute and in particular the manner in which it was conducted, irrespective of any comments alleged to have been made, is adjudged to be not only of concern to the public but viewed by us as detrimental to the standing of our company, unbecoming of a manager of our brand and prejudicial to our good name.”

Additionally, the company also said that they have solved the issue with the driver in an “amicable manner” and the Beijing police have already closed the investigation.

A report from the New York Times explained that Gartner did not comment publicly about the incident, nor did he respond to any messages.

In this day and age where anything can go viral, it is better to be in your best behavior, especially when your reputation and hard-earned career are at stake.

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