For a long time there was only speculation about the costs of the planned state rescue of Meyer Werft. Lower Saxony’s economics minister has now announced the figures. The figure is in the billions.
The federal government and the state of Lower Saxony want to take over around 80 percent of the shares in the ailing Meyer Werft for 400 million euros. This was announced by Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs Olaf Lies in the state parliament in Hanover.
In addition, the state and the federal government want to provide guarantees together to prevent the company from going bankrupt. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the federal government and the state government are each contributing around one billion euros. Last week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the state government announced that they wanted to save the shipyard, which is in the midst of a financial crisis. Lies has now given the specific figures.
More than 20,000 jobs in Germany threatened
The Minister of Economic Affairs justified the planned rescue by saying that the shipyard’s crisis directly and indirectly threatened more than 20,000 jobs in Germany, about half of them in Lower Saxony. “The state cannot be a spectator in this,” said the SPD politician. In addition, the maritime industry in Germany must be preserved.
Lies stressed that the state does not aim to remain the shipyard’s majority shareholder permanently. “We can very well imagine a successful future for the shipyard in private hands,” he said. This also includes a buyback option for the Meyer family.
Meyer Werft must clarify financing by mid-September
Meyer Werft, known primarily for its cruise ships, must raise almost 2.8 billion euros to finance new ship construction by the end of 2027. Agreements must be reached by September 15.
This imbalance is not due to a lack of orders, it was said. However, some contracts for the ships were concluded before the corona pandemic and do not provide for any adjustment to the increased energy and raw material prices. In addition, in the industry, 80 percent of the construction price is usually only paid upon delivery of the ship – so the shipyard has to finance the construction with interim loans.
Last week, Chancellor Scholz praised the company as an “industrial crown jewel” at the shipyard in Papenburg. “The Meyer Werft is an asset that we cannot and will not give up,” said Scholz.
The rescue has not yet been finally decided. Among other things, the budget committees of the Bundestag and the state parliament still have to approve the plan.
All parliamentary groups in the state parliament agree that the shipyard should be saved. Opposition leader Sebastian Lechner of the CDU, however, stressed that the state’s involvement should only be temporary. “It must be clear that the shipyard must not become a state authority, because the state does not know any better how to build ships,” said Lechner. The AfD warned of possible Chinese involvement in the shipyard if the state sells its shares again.
Expert has doubts about the shipyard’s competitiveness
Criticism of the planned rescue came from economic expert Marcel Fratzscher. “There is actually no good reason why this company is essential for Germany now. It is not,” the president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) told NDR. The state cannot start rescuing all companies that get into trouble. “We have to realize that we cannot do everything in Germany. We cannot produce all products.”
The economist also expressed doubts about the competitiveness of Meyer Werft. “What is really worrying is that a company has got into trouble, but no private investor wants to get involved, despite these generous state guarantees,” he said. “That should actually be an alarm signal to everyone that this company is not actually positioned for sustainability.”
Source: Stern
