City budget officials have complained that the board consistently fails to provide them with accurate budget information and often fails to meet cost-cutting targets.

Mr. Lopez, however, refuses to specify any cost-cutting targets.

As part of a plan called ForMotion, Volkswagen said that it would double its cost-cutting target to 4 billion euros ($4.96 billion) by 2005.

The state would pledge a certain dollar amount; colleges would set cost-cutting targets.

In March, he announced a plan to double Volkswagen's cost-cutting target to 4 billion euros ($4.84 billion) by 2005, which would involve cutting 5,000 jobs.

Its cost-cutting targets require big productivity concessions from the unions, which Mr. Conway has yet to win.

The spokesman said that Mr. Luik's resignation would count toward the cost-cutting target.

Standardizing supplies is another cost-cutting target.

To compensate, Ford increased its cost-cutting target for 2003 to $3 billion from $2.5 billion.

Faced with high costs and eroding profits, Volkswagen's chief executive, Bernd Pischetsrieder, doubled the company's cost-cutting target to $4.8 billion by 2005.