Even before Corona, everyone was talking about the shortage of skilled workers.
Now the phenomenon has become tangible, the shortage of personnel has affected many industries.
Munich – Anyone who is currently strolling through Munich city center will notice it on every corner: the shop windows are plastered with posters with which shops are looking for employees - from shoe shops to toy dealers.
In some companies, the shortage of staff is now so great that they pay four-digit bonuses for new employees.
Personnel shortage in Munich makes inventive: bonuses for new employees
This is how the Stadtsparkasse does it, for example.
The bank lures potential new colleagues with lavish bonuses.
Sales employees receive a one-time payment of 2000 euros, private customer advisors even 7000 euros.
The Stadtsparkasse also advertises special offers such as flexible working time models or company apartments.
40 positions are currently vacant at the bank, says spokesman Sebastian Sippel.
The catering industry is also struggling.
"There are two people missing in the kitchen at the moment, and another will soon be on paternity leave," says Eckard Scholz.
He has been head chef at Rumpler (Glockenbachviertel) for ten years, but the situation has never been as bad as it is now.
"We often don't get any responses to job advertisements anymore, that was completely different two or three years ago," says the chef.
The pandemic has hit the once crisis-proof gastronomy hard.
Because they had more and more work but fewer and fewer employees, Scholz drew consequences.
For a month the kitchen has been closed for two hours a day and completely on Saturdays.
Scholz had no other choice: "People were stressed and often absent due to illness..." Scholz does not believe that the situation will improve anytime soon.
"I think the restaurants that are already on the brink won't last that long."
Deutsche Post is looking for 150 new people in Munich alone
That would at least release new staff for the ailing gastronomy industry.
The situation is also critical in the logistics industry, which is particularly felt by the largest German logistics company: Deutsche Post.
In order to attract new employees, she now distributes leaflets in Munich households and advertises an hourly wage of 15.34 euros and an immediate bonus of 1000 euros for new parcel carriers.
Advertising for new staff is also emblazoned on the DHL cars.
“Due to the current situation on the German labor markets, employees are generally very much sought after at the moment.
This applies above all to the greater Munich area,” says press spokesman Dieter Nawrath.
In Munich alone, the Post is therefore looking for around 150 mail carriers.
But Nawrath is confident: "We don't expect any bottlenecks for the coming Christmas business." The Munich Clinic is also desperately looking for new employees.
Trainees receive a takeover bonus of 5,000 euros to keep the trained specialists in the company.
Employees who recruit new colleagues receive a bonus of EUR 4,000
There are also financial incentives in the form of an advertising bonus: employees who recruit new colleagues can receive a reward of up to 4,000 euros.
In addition, there are benefits for employees such as a local transport ticket and childcare.
A special advertising campaign for intensive care workers, which was widely displayed online last autumn, had an impact and led to a significant increase in applications.
Nevertheless, it is still difficult to fill nursing positions in metropolitan areas like Munich.
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Empty sausage counters in supermarkets: "It is not foreseeable when the situation will relax"
How severe the situation is: The people of Munich also see that in the supermarkets.
Many a shop has to close its meat and sausage counter for hours or even days because people are absent.
Bernd Ohlmann from the trade association says: “It is not really foreseeable when the situation will relax.
We know that many supermarkets are currently having to close their deli counters earlier because there is a lack of employees.”
This is mainly due to Corona, which many retailers believed had been overcome - and therefore did not bother about additional reserves.
At the same time, according to Ohlmann, "the general lack of staff and young talent is making itself felt".
The holiday season has made the situation even worse in many places.
Many exams that could not be held in recent years would also have to be made up for - some employees have to study for them and are therefore not available.