Thousands of jobs and a traditional company are at stake. The federal and state governments want to step in to ensure that the struggling Meyer Werft survives. But that is not a done deal yet.
The efforts to save the ailing Meyer Werft are entering the decisive phase. The plans have now been submitted to the Bundestag’s budget committee, according to the Federal Ministry of Economics. The members of parliament must give their consent so that the federal government can contribute the planned 200 million euros to stabilizing the shipyard. The state of Lower Saxony is also involved, and the budget committee there must also give the green light.
Deadline 15 September
The Bundestag committee will meet next Wednesday, the topic of Meyer Werft is on the agenda, but it still has a few days to make its decision. “If the budget committee approves it, the guarantee declaration will take effect by September 15 at the latest and the equity injection will be binding,” the ministry said.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) reiterated in Berlin that it was the firm will of the federal government and of his own personally to support Meyer Werft so that it could continue to build ships.
The Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Lower Saxony, is best known for its cruise ships. The company also owns the Neptunwerft in Rostock-Warnemünde. The shipyard has run into financial difficulties: it has to raise almost 2.8 billion euros to finance new ship construction by the end of 2027.
The order situation is considered good. 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.
Thousands of jobs affected
The federal and state governments each want to temporarily take over around 40 percent of the shipyard’s shares for a total of 400 million euros. A joint guarantee of 80 percent for a total external credit line of 2.6 billion euros is also planned. The banks are to take over 20 percent at their own risk.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Meyer Werft has 3,800 employees in Germany. According to Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs Olaf Lies (SPD), more than 20,000 jobs are directly and indirectly dependent on the shipyard.
Source: Stern
