IG Metall: Federal budget crisis jeopardizes 100,000 jobs
According to IG Metall, the federal budget crisis triggered by a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court is jeopardizing 100,000 existing or planned new jobs in northern Germany alone. This figure was quoted on Thursday by Daniel Friedrich, Coastal District Manager of Germany's largest trade union. Friedrich cited the Swedish Northvolt Group's planned battery production in Heide as an example. "We have the steelworks and foundries on the Weser, in Hamburg and in Schleswig-Holstein with 5,000 jobs, where the question is, what will happen now?", Friedrich told the German Press Agency.
There is also the issue of wind power on land and at sea. "Here, too, we wanted to do a lot of things going forward. That alone affects almost 30,000 jobs." Investments in the areas of hydrogen and climate-neutral aviation could be affected. "So at first glance, without looking at the whole question of the supply industry or anything else behind it, you can see that the 100,000 jobs that are now being called into question by these savings that are being made are of course at risk," said the trade unionist.
Last week, the Federal Constitutional Court declared the reallocation of 60 billion euros in the 2021 federal budget null and void. The money had been approved as a coronavirus loan, but was subsequently to be used for climate protection and the modernization of the economy. At the same time, the judges ruled that the state may not reserve emergency loans for later years. As a result, further billions of euros for future projects are at risk.
Friedrich expressed "great incomprehension" about the financial policy impasse that has arisen in this situation and demanded "clear signals from Berlin and also from the state capitals" that the necessary investments for the future would be maintained. "We have not come up with ideas about what needs to be done for the future of this country based on the motto 'we have money, what do we want to do? "Instead, we asked ourselves the other way around: what do we need to do to give the country a future? And that is the restructuring of the economy."
The federal budget crisis has potential implications for various industries, as Friedrich highlighted the potential impact on the Swedish Northvolt Group's battery production plan in Heide, which employs 5,000 people. Additionally, the crisis could negatively affect the wind power sector, potentially impacting around 30,000 jobs due to planned investments in this area being put at risk.
Source: www.dpa.com
