Employer President Rainer Dulger sees massive burdens on the German economy not only because of the gas crisis and fears job losses. He told the German Press Agency: “The sum of the burdens is large. That can mean that we lose companies and jobs.” The gas crisis means that there is a lack of material and skilled workers and that supply chains are disrupted. “Everyone has to deal with a different type of stress, but everyone is currently facing massive stress. This situation is dangerous for our economy and thus for the prosperity and social peace of our society.”
In addition, individual countries in Europe would be particularly badly affected by a gas shortage. “The Americans, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Japanese, the Indians wouldn’t be affected to that extent – which means that our competitors, with whom we compete every day, could comfortably outperform us in the worst case scenario,” said Dulger . “That makes this multiple situation even more complicated. We will fall behind in international competition if we cannot deliver,” said the President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations.
“It remains to be feared that consumers will end up consuming less as a result of the energy price inflation. Then the recession could continue in Germany.” The German economy recorded only minimal growth in the first quarter. In the event of a gas shortage, major damage to the economy is expected.
Dulger: “We are in a critical situation”
No gas is currently flowing through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline due to maintenance. It is eagerly awaited whether Russia will supply gas again after the end of maintenance announced for Thursday and if so, how much. “We have to wait and see whether Russia actually turns on the gas tap again,” said Dulger. Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Wednesday night that the delivery volume through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline could be significantly reduced.
Putin uses gas as a geopolitical weapon, Dulger said. “That should be clear to everyone by now. He’s trying to stir up as much unrest as possible in the coalition of Ukraine supporters.” Of the Süddeutsche Zeitung Dulger said a few days ago that Germany was “facing the biggest crisis the country has ever had.”
With a view to the coming months, Dulger now says: “We are in a critical situation and will also be in a critical situation over the winter. We have to limit our gas consumption as much as possible so that we can get through the winter to some extent German companies are working feverishly on it. But I remain optimistic: We’ve always been good at crisis management in Germany. We’ll get stronger when the omens are bad.”
Workplace or a warm home? Not “playing one off against the other”
Large consumers such as the chemical industry depend on gas for process heat, said Dulger. “That will be our main problem. Alternatives are quicker and more readily available for heat in homes, including coal or nuclear power. But the process heat in industry, you just can’t do that without gas. These are processes that you can’t just do – and can turn it off,” says Dulger.
“That’s what worries us the most: if jobs are lost in entire sectors due to a possible gas shortage, production facilities have to be closed, wages are no longer paid – and then social security contributions and taxes no longer flow. That hits us all hard – and that’s why we have to we’re carefully evaluating what the right steps are right now,” Dulger said. “One thing remains a fact: we all want a safe job and a warm home – both are important for the people in our country. We have to find flexible solutions so that we can ensure both. You should definitely not pit one against the other play out.”