Weapon manufacturers - Rheinmetall defends its sponsorship decisions.
Rheinmetall, a large defense corporation, is unfazed by the negative reactions to their recent sports sponsorship deals. Peter Sebastian Krause, their HR manager, discusses with Süddeutsche Zeitung the idea of whether it's normal for a defense company to be engaged in sports advertisements. So far, the reception has been positive. Recently, the company signed contracts with the Champions League runner-up Borussia Dortmund and the traditional ice hockey team Düsseldorf EG.
The signing of the Rheinmetall sponsorship sparked backlash for Borussia Dortmund, with pacifists, human rights organizations, and some fans speaking out against the team for accepting money from a defense company.
Rheinmetall's sponsorships also serve another purpose - to attract more attention and interest from potential job applicants. The company intends to fill around 5,000 positions in Germany this year due to a high demand for defense products, as they've mentioned before.
Despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Rheinmetall continues to thrive. With 30,000 employees, they're on a growth spree. Their order backlog has increased by approximately 10 billion euros since the beginning of 2022, now totaling around 24 billion euros, and it's projected that they'll reach 10 billion euros in revenue this year alone.
