The corona virus has far-reaching effects on the German economy. Lufthansa announces shocking numbers, there is a remarkable demand from the Bundestag. An overview of all Corona business reports.
- The corona virus * is bad for the economy in Germany. The exchanges * are in the basement.
- Many companies, such as the travel company * TUI, rely on loans and state aid * to survive.
- Here you will find our guide to reporting and the Corona News from Germany. You can also find current numbers of cases in Bavaria as a map. The following recommendations for corona protective measures are currently available.
- You can find previous reports on the impact of Corona on the German economy here.
Update, 3.45 p.m .: Should companies with environmentally harmful business models receive financial support because of losses in the corona crisis? The left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag calls for climate sinners in German business to be excluded from the planned stimulus from the federal government. According to the concern, low-cost airlines, coal-fired power plants and other fossil energy projects should not receive support, the paper said that the AFP was available and what Spiegel first reported. Such a business model is no longer feasible "in the coming low-carbon world", the thesis is.
Financial aid because of Corona: German companies should ignite "Eco-Turbo"
The position paper comes from the environmental working group in the left faction. The environmental and climate expert Lorenz Gösta Beutin referred to "fatal mistakes" that were made in the stimulus package after the 2008 global economic crisis . Back then, the package fueled "dirty growth" and was "a bitter setback for the environment and the climate," said Beutin.
He cited the scrapping premium for cars as an example: "The scrapping premium, for example, ensured that Germany missed its climate targets in traffic until today." The targeted corona stimulus packages would set the growth course for the next decade, said Beutin. "So you have to ignite an eco-turbo instead of becoming a climate protection brake." The left therefore called for the Corona funds to be linked to ecological use .
Update, April 9, 10:45 am: The Dax group Eon will ask its shareholders online for the annual general meeting. Because of the corona crisis, the meeting should take place in accordance with the recently created new rules of the stock corporation law without physical participation of the shareholders, as Eon announced. The new date is May 28th. The Annual General Meeting was originally scheduled for May 13. Due to the postponement, the dividend distribution to the shareholders is now being delayed. Eon has proposed a dividend of 46 cents per share for 2019.
Coronavirus: Lufthansa boss speaks of "greatest challenge in our history"
Update April 8, 10:14 p.m .: "In total , we therefore lose one million euros of our liquidity reserve every hour - day and night, week after week and probably even month after month." Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr shared this shocking balance sheet with the employees of German airline in a video message with. The airline currently carries fewer than 3,000 passengers instead of 350,000 a day.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr sent a video message to his employees about the corona crisis.
© dpa / Arne Dedert
For the group, the pandemic means "the greatest challenge in our history," said Spohr. Lufthansa is "in the fight" for its future line-up. Lufthansa could face the crisis with financial reserves of more than four billion euros, but the group only recorded a “fraction of the revenue” . It is therefore foreseeable that the company will only survive the crisis with government support . Lufthansa is currently negotiating state aid and Spohr was optimistic that the talks will end positively.
Coronavirus: Hamster purchases seem to be declining
According to Spohr, 7,000 employees are affected by the measures that the company wants to use to reduce its costs . Of these, 1,400 are owned by the Germanwings subsidiary , which ceases operations . Talks have already been held with the employee representatives to offer as many employees as possible an alternative job in the group. To do this, however, new employment models, such as part-time work, are essential.
Update April 8, 6:20 pm: Has the hamster finally ended? This suggests at least a message from the Federal Statistical Office on Wednesday. Accordingly, the sales figures for hygiene products and foodstuffs, which have recently been in particularly high demand, have largely declined in the past week, and in some cases significantly. Retail sales of toilet paper were 29 percent below the average for the six months from August to January.
Corona virus impact on the economy: Toilet paper sales fluctuate
A week earlier, 46 percent more toilet paper had been sold than the six-month average. Sales of soap fell after a plus of more than 330 percent in mid-March to a little more than double the usual amount. And also with flour, the increase of 57 percent last week was significantly lower than the week before (139 percent). According to the statisticians, sales of sugar and rice were only about ten percent above the average.
The demand for disinfectants, on the other hand, rose again "after a brief slump", almost four times the usual value. In this connection, the statisticians pointed out that the fluctuations and short-term sales declines only partially reflect a slowly occurring saturation of demand. They could also be "due to a short-term offer in one product segment".
How is the Corona crisis going on in Germany? Jens Spahn and the RKI are giving a corona update on Thursday. *
Corona virus and business: DHL wants to register short-time work for 4000 employees
Update April 8, 4.10 p.m .: According to a media report, the logistics company Deutsche Post DHL wants to register short-time work for 4000 employees . Affiliates in particular from the contract logistics division, including two companies that offer logistical services and first production steps for the car manufacturers Ford and Audi, reported the "Wirtschaftswoche" on Wednesday, citing trade union circles. Short-time work is also to be introduced in the business with express deliveries in Germany and in the forwarding division.
The company is suffering from measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic and the poor order situation for many customers. The management board has already withdrawn its profit target for 2020. However, the group is seeing increasing volumes in the parcel business in Germany. The majority of the approximately 190,000 employees in Germany work in the mail and parcel sector.
When asked by AFP, a spokeswoman for the group said that the "first priority" was to employ employees in other business areas where possible. "Only then will we consider short-time work to a limited extent in some business areas."
The Verdi union criticized that the group did not want to increase short-time benefits. Verdi asked the board to do so, said deputy chairwoman Andrea Kocsis of the "Wirtschaftswoche".
Corona virus / economy: Chemical and pharmaceutical industries suffer particularly from corona
Update from April 8, 3:08 pm: In the chemical and pharmaceutical industry , the number of short-time workers in the corona crisis is increasing rapidly. In April, almost 85,000 employees are expected to be on short-time work, according to a survey by the Federal Employers' Association for Chemistry (BAVC) among almost 250 member companies. That is every seventh employee or 14 percent in the industry with its 580,000 employees in Germany. In March, the proportion of people working short-time increased five-fold, according to the dpa paper on Wednesday.
The corona crisis affects the industry far more than the global financial and economic crisis , said BAVC President Kai Beckmann. At that time, around 50,000 people in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries were working short-time. Today, companies along the supply chains for the automotive industry such as paints, plastics, tires and fibers are most affected.
Update of April 8, 12.11 p.m .: After two strong trading days , the recovery on the German stock market has ended for the time being. The finance ministers of the European Union were unable to agree on a multi-billion dollar corona aid package on Wednesday. Instead, they adjourned to Thursday. This put pressure on the prices: The Dax lost 1.3 percent to 10,222 points in the morning. The leading German index had recovered by almost nine percent in the past two days.
Effects of Corona on the economy: Greens call for improvements in the voucher scheme
Update from April 8th, 11:28 am: The Greens in the Bundestag are calling for improvements to the planned voucher scheme for consumers who cannot use tickets or subscriptions due to the Corona crisis . "In the short term, the government is putting the greater risk of ticket reimbursement on consumers' feet," said the Greens Group's spokeswoman for consumer protection, Katharina Willkomm, the German Press Agency.
Previously, the cabinet had passed a regulation whereby organizers of music, cultural or sporting events and operators of leisure facilities such as museums, swimming pools or sports studios can issue their customers with vouchers for services that cannot be used due to the corona pandemic. This should help prevent bankruptcies. "Organizers and operators are faced with a large number of reclaims and are increasingly facing liquidity shortages," warned Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
BMW starts manufacturing respiratory masks
Update from April 8, 10:51 a.m .: The car maker BMW also wants to start manufacturing respiratory masks during the corona crisis. “We are actively addressing global bottlenecks. Production plants are already on their way to us. We will soon be able to produce several hundred thousand masks a day, ”said BMW boss Oliver Zipse in Munich on Wednesday. The machines required for production would be delivered in the coming weeks , after which up to 100,000 masks will be produced every day.
The car maker also donated a million pairs of medical gloves and 50,000 FFP2 respirators to the Free State of Bavaria for the fight against the corona virus . "In this emergency, rapid and coordinated assistance is of the utmost importance," said Zipse. He announced that BMW would donate a million respirators again in the next two weeks.
Economic researchers: Germany can cope with recession
Update of April 8, 8:44 a.m .: From the perspective of leading economic researchers, the corona crisis is leading to a severe recession - but Germany is well equipped to endure it. Ifo economic chief Timo Wollmershäuser said on Wednesday that Germany had good prerequisites to cope with the economic downturn and to return to the economic level in the medium term that would have resulted without the crisis. The favorable financial situation enables the state to take extensive measures to mitigate the short-term negative consequences for companies and households.
According to the forecast by the leading economic research institutes, German economic output will shrink by 4.2 percent this year. This would be the worst recession since the financial and economic crisis over ten years ago. The institutes predict a recovery and growth of 5.8 percent for the coming year.
Deutsche Post sees no need for state aid
Update from April 8, 8.15 a.m .: Despite the corona crisis, Deutsche Post sees no need for government funding. "We are in a very stable situation," said Post boss Frank Appel in a conference call with journalists on Wednesday. The group is very resilient and very well positioned, especially with regard to the balance sheet. Therefore, there are no discussions in the company about possible government support.
While Swiss Post has recently seen noticeable declines in the express and freight business, supply chain logistics and advertising mail, the parcel business has grown to a level normally seen only before Christmas, Appel said. For this reason, Swiss Post now wants to use employees from other areas in its parcel business. Accordingly, new hires are also planned.
Vonovia housing group: Thousands of tenants fear money problems
News from April 8th, 5:13 am: In the Corona crisis, thousands of tenants in Germany's largest housing group Vonovia asked for concessions. As of the end of last week, around 3,000 tenants had turned to the company fearing that they would no longer be able to afford their apartment. Vonovia had already written to all tenants in March "that they don't have to worry if they are temporarily unable to fully pay rents," said CEO Rolf Buch of the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Wednesday).
In such cases, they wanted to find a solution together . "Under no circumstances will we give notice to tenants who have had problems with Corona," said Buch. He also ruled out rent increases in current contracts as long as the corona crisis was acute. "Even if we now complete modernizations, we will not increase rents until September for the time being." Although that will cost the group money, the annual forecast is still being adhered to.
* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Christian Charisius
