Kaufland, Lidl and Aldi: There is a risk of empty shelves - because of Omikron

Created: 01/11/2022Updated: 01/11/2022, 7:11 AM

By: Christina Rosenberger

Because of Omikron, more and more shelves could remain empty in German supermarkets.

(Archive image) © Christoph Soeder / dpa

The Corona variant Omikron gives Germany a headache - not only because of strict rules.

Now the logistics network is warning of delivery problems.

It is and will remain a tiresome topic - the corona pandemic is still one of the biggest problems in the world even after two years.

Now there is the highly contagious Omikron variant *, which is also spreading more and more in German federal states.

As

*, the mutation is already prevalent in Baden-Württemberg *, the intensive care units are busy.

According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), the Omikron variant is still traveling at high speed.

According to Lauterbach's statement, extrapolations have shown that the number of Omikron infected people is currently doubling every five and a half days.

But now the variant that was first discovered in South Africa poses a completely different problem.

Lidl, Aldi, Kaufland: Omikron variant brings massive problem - empty shelves

At discounters like Lidl * and Aldi or supermarket chains like Kaufland, based in Neckarsulm *, the shelves could soon remain empty.

The Federal Association of Freight Transport and Logistics (BGL) sees the security of supply in Germany as jeopardized as it is in Great Britain, where not only supermarkets but also petrol stations are struggling with idling.

Compared to the Bild am Sonntag, BGL President Dirk Engelhardt said: "Omikron has the potential that delivery bottlenecks occur more frequently and not all supply chains can be maintained." He fears that the Omikron wave could lead to massive loss of work and thus interrupt the supply chain.

This means that the shelves at Lidl, Aldi and Co. could remain empty.

Delivery bottlenecks due to Omikron?

Logistikverbund sees a "long-term global" problem

But in addition to Omikron as a “short-term but very serious problem”, Engelhardt also worries about the “long-term global driver shortage”.

At this point in time, there is a shortage of between 60,000 and 80,000 professional drivers in this country.

And there are more and more, because baby boomers are retiring and there are hardly any offspring due to poor working conditions.

That is why the BGL appeals to politicians to take quick precautions now.

We do everything to keep the supply chains stable.

Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP)

The new Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing (FDP) reacted to this and also promised in Bild am Sonntag: “We are doing everything to keep the supply chains stable. Therefore, shortly after taking office, I sought a conversation with the representatives of the industry and I get regular updates on the latest developments. ”But in some areas, Germany is already clearly feeling the current delivery bottlenecks.

The automotive industry in particular suffers from an acute shortage of chips.

Not only Mercedes and Audi have delivery problems *.

All automakers are in the unfortunate position of not being able to finish building their vehicles due to a lack of semiconductors.

Both in the car and in the truck sector, many vehicles are almost finished on the dump because only individual chips are missing, reports the 

The situation is similar with bicycles and game consoles.

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