Meyer Werft's Emergency Intervention Approved
The Federal Authority and Lower Saxony's government are now aiming to purchase approximately 80.7% of Meyer Werft for a sum of 400 million euros. This investment includes loan guarantees totalling approximately two billion euros. This action is set to put both the shipyard in Papenburg and the Neptun Werft in Rostock-Warnemünde under state control. However, the Meyer Werft in Turku, Finland, will remain under the ownership of the Meyer family.
The decision to intervene was made by Lower Saxony's state government at the beginning of last week, and has since been unanimously approved by the state parliament committee, as announced by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Finance on Wednesday. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the state aid will not require approval from the EU.
Both the federal and state governments have argued that the shipyard safeguards around 3,800 jobs, is crucial for the German shipbuilding industry, and significantly impacts the nation's shipbuilding knowledge base. The shipyard in Rostock-Warnemünde is also expected to contribute to the country's energy transition by constructing platforms for offshore wind farms, as reported from government sources. It could potentially assume a more prominent role in naval shipbuilding should the need arise.
IG Metall Coast has hailed the state's intervention. "Politics has kept its promise," explained regional manager Daniel Friedrich. "Now, it's management and the workforce's responsibility to work together to ensure the shipyards become viable again." The company's restructuring is anticipated to take some time, according to IG Metall. This includes the planned reduction of 340 jobs, for which a voluntary program will be instituted by March 2025.
The Left party in the Bundestag also supports the company's rescue. However, the federal and state governments must be prepared for "permanently managing a large state-owned shipyard," explained Victor Perli, a member of the budget committee. Given the high financial commitments, it is "not very probable" that the Meyer family or an external investor will be able to repurchase the shipyard within a few years, "even if the traffic light coalition does not publicly acknowledge this." The Left rejected proposals to transform the shipyard into a naval shipyard.
Currently, the shipyard primarily constructs large cruise ships and is doing quite well in this regard. However, it has faced difficulties mainly due to significant price increases and its inability to immediately pass these costs onto its customers, as it typically receives the majority of the ship purchase price upon delivery. As per information from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the state bailout will also involve "modifying payment schedules."
The state parliament committee, following Lower Saxony's state government's decision, unanimously approved the acquisition of Meyer Werft's majority shares at the Landtag sessions. To ensure the shipyard's long-term viability, the Left party in the Bundestag emphasized the need for the federal and state governments to prepare for managing a large state-owned shipyard.
