Whereas Germany is getting ready to sink, next year, into the deepest recession in its recent history with a GDP decreasing by 3% according to new government assessments, mentioned in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily on December 16, the political parties and the social partners are ready to fight at all costs to avoid mass layoffs. On December 15, 2008, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she would meet with the managers of large businesses listed on the DAX 30 as early as January to convince them to sign a code of good behavior where they would commit to give up any redundancies in 2009. Both unions and employers welcomed the idea. (Ref. 081023)
In doing so, the chancellor drew from a stand
previously taken by the CEO of Siemens, Peter Loscher, during a crisis meeting
organized on December 14 at the chancellorship, in front of 32 personalities,
including managers, unionists, Ministers and experts. According to the Der Spiegel daily newspaper,
Mr. Loscher defended the idea of employment guarantee, reminding that, having
regard to demographic ageing and the workforce shortage, companies should do everything
they could to keep their skilled staff in spite of the crisis.
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