German shipyards MV Werften, owned by Asian conglomerate Genting, specializing in the construction of cruise ships, will file for bankruptcy after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, a company spokesperson said on Monday. to AFP.
The German state comes to the aid of the Asian-owned MV Werften shipyard
"
The request for bankruptcy will be filed today (Monday)
," said the spokesman, confirming information from the German press.
The company, which operates three shipyards in Germany in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, is notably no longer in a position to finance the construction of the “
Global One
”, a gigantic ship yet finished at “
80 %
”, He detailed.
MV Werften has been suffering for several months from the coronavirus pandemic, which has significantly slowed down its activity, causing the tourism and cruise travel sector to plunge.
Public aid totaling 300 million euros
In June, the German state released public aid totaling 300 million euros to support the naval company, formed in 2016 following the takeover of the three shipyards by the Genting group, based in Malaysia. This aid succeeded a credit line of 193 million euros, granted in December 2020 by Berlin. This time, "
no solution has been found
" to unblock a new aid plan between the federal state and the Land of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where these sites are located, lamented the spokesperson for the group. .
MV Werften would need an additional 600 million euros, he said.
"
The fact that the negotiations did not lead to a solution is disappointing
," said IG Metall on Monday indignantly, while around 2,900 employees work on the sites of MV Werften.
"
It is a dark day for shipbuilding in Germany
," added the metalworking union, calling for "
maintenance of jobs
" at the sites.
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In December, the company had already had to postpone the payment of salaries to its employees.
And a large part of them, whose fate is not known for the moment, have been placed on short-time work, due to the group's difficulties.
