Landsberg (dpa/sa) – Several works councils of chemical, mining and energy companies have expressed concerns about jobs in their respective companies in view of the possible energy shortages. “Couldn’t the millions of special assets have been better spent on energy supplies instead of armaments?” It was said at a works council conference on Thursday in Landsberg (Saalekreis). The event was organized by the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union. The State Secretary from the Energy Ministry who was present, Thomas Wünsch, referred to various decision-making processes.
The question of possible operational stops and state aid was also discussed. “Aren’t you just saving the big ones and the small ones?” asked one of the works councillors. The state government is committed to the federal government for necessary aid programs to cushion existential situations in companies and to secure jobs, said Wünsch.
In addition to private households, the energy supply also poses considerable challenges for the economy, said Wünsch. One of the largest fertilizer producers in Germany, SKW nitrogen works Piesteritz in Wittenberg, is threatened with a production stop and short-time work in view of the gas crisis. The reason for this is the extremely high gas prices and the gas surcharge, the company said. SKW now has to pay a gas levy of 30 million euros a month. That cannot be done financially. The company is demanding relief from the levy.
