Leuna (dpa/sa) – In view of the energy crisis, the IGBCE union believes that there is growing concern among people in the East German chemical industry about the preservation of sites and jobs. Many families in the Leuna-Schkopau-Bitterfeld-Wolfen region, also known as the chemical triangle, are unsettled, said a spokeswoman for the mining, chemical and energy industrial union. The trade union has called for a rally in front of the main gate of the Leuna chemical park on Wednesday (4 p.m.) under the motto “Perspective Leuna”.
Participants from other chemical sites are expected. “The point is that we want to fight together for a future, for jobs, for the preservation of companies,” she said. It is therefore necessary that the measures planned by the federal government to relieve the burden on citizens and companies are implemented more quickly.
Memories would come up in the chemical triangle when many jobs were cut after 1990 as part of the restructuring of the industry. According to information from the industry, around 54,500 people are currently employed in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in eastern Germany, primarily in chemical parks. The “Chemical Triangle” is considered the focus of the industry, plus Schwedt and Schwarzheide in Brandenburg, Böhlen in Saxony in association with Schkopau.
Chemistry is one of the areas of the economy that needs a lot of energy and has so far been dependent primarily on gas and oil as raw materials for production. A large part of the deliveries in East Germany has so far come from Russia. The cost of energy and raw materials have exploded in the wake of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, according to the Northeast Regional Association of the Chemical Industry Association (VCI). The first companies have reduced their production or shut down plants.
