Germany: the crisis threatens businesses’ employment pacts

A promise increasingly hard to keep. Yet, the longer the crisis last, the more businesses may not be able to keep their promise. “For the moment, many businesses are still using partial unemployment, but we are expecting unemployment to rise again starting this summer” warned Kai Carstensen, expert at the Ifo economic research institute, saying that around 700.000 people might loose their jobs this year. “At national level, almost half our businesses envisage cutting staff  this year” added Martin Kannegiesser, leader of the Gesamtmetall employers’ federation. He also warned that if the crisis continues, partial unemployment won’t help businesses maintain employment, at the latest this fall. A series of conflicts on employment guarantees might break.
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>see our dispatch No. 061120). According to the union, 250 employment pacts of this kind were concluded in the key region of Südwesten in the Bade-Wurttemberg, thus protecting 300.000 employees from economic redundancies. 600-1.000 pacts were signed in the country.

A promise increasingly hard to keep. Yet, the longer the crisis last, the more businesses may not be able to keep their promise. “For the moment, many businesses are still using partial unemployment, but we are expecting unemployment

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