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☆ A New Place to Learn Civics: The Workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. That was the wish behind a post that Simge Krüger made on LinkedIn in March. In response, people began posting their wishes that her husband, father and brother be killed in combat. “I was just talking about peace and I’m suddenly a Nazi,” Ms. Krüger, a Turkish citizen who lives in Hamburg, said in an interview. Weeks later, sitting in a workshop led by a pro-democracy organization, she came to understand what happened in that dizzying moment.

Persons: Krüger, “, I’m, ” Ms, Weeks Organizations: LinkedIn, Nazi Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Turkish, Hamburg

☆ Birkenstock, German Maker of Iconic Sandals, Files for I.P.O. in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In recent years, the brand has introduced its sandals made with non-animal materials and a dizzying array of styles and colors. But the shoes’ appeal reaches across generations, making them as popular with millennials as they are with the boomer generation. Potential Risks: The trick of taking tradition publicBirkenstock’s statement said the company would face a number of risks in going public. Among them are the dangers posed by counterfeit products, it said, along with the “intense competition” from established companies and newcomers in the shoe market. “The transition from a historically family-owned German company to a publicly held company listed on a U.S. stock exchange may negatively impact our reputation,” the statement said.

Persons: Oliver Reichert, “, Mr, Reichert, “ Barbie, ”, Barbie, Christian Dior, Manolo Blahnik, Stüssy, Valentino Garavani Organizations: U.S, Birkenstocks Locations: Germany, New York, Milan, €, U.S

The European Union will begin an investigation into Chinese subsidies of electric vehicles, the bloc’s top official announced Wednesday, in a move that highlights Europe’s growing industrial and geopolitical competition with China. The inquiry could lead to trade restrictions, such as import tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Chinese automakers have gained a dominant position in the global electric vehicle industry and see Europe as a key potential market. “Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, speaking in Strasbourg, France. “We must defend ourselves against unfair practices.”She announced the initiative during her annual state of the European Union address, which sets the tone for the year ahead.

Persons: ”, Ursula von der Leyen, “ Organizations: European Union, European Commission Locations: China, Europe, Beijing, “ Europe, Strasbourg, France

☆ Chinese Cars Star at Munich Auto Show, Underscoring German Economic Woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For decades, the phrase “Made in Germany” signaled cutting-edge automotive technology and design. And that speed was on display Monday at I.A.A. Mobility, a massive auto show in Munich, with newcomers from China stealing the show. BYD, an all-electric Chinese carmaker that overtook Volkswagen as China’s best-selling brand this year, unveiled a sleek, new sedan and a sport utility vehicle to applause from a packed crowd. “I think the Europeans are just pretty much petrified of how the Chinese will perform in Europe,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent analyst of the electric-car market based in Berlin.

Persons: Germany ”, ”, Matthias Schmidt Organizations: Mobility, Volkswagen Locations: Germany, China, Munich, Europe, Berlin

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company said on Tuesday it would team up with three German technology firms to build a facility in eastern Germany capable of producing up to 40,000 microchips each month as part of efforts to further diversify its production locations. TSMC, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors, said it would invest 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) and own 70 percent of the joint venture, to be located in Dresden. The German companies Robert Bosch, Infineon Technologies and NXP Semiconductors will each control 10 percent. The combined private and public investment, “including strong support from the European Union and German government,” is expected to total €10 billion, the company said. The plant would be TSMC’s first location in Europe, and represents a win for Germany, which has been seeking out manufacturers of microchips, the tiny devices essential for the country’s large automotive industry and countless other devices.

Persons: Robert Bosch, ” Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Infineon Technologies, European Union, Germany Locations: Germany, Dresden, Europe

☆ Adidas’s Sale of Yeezy Sneakers Brings in 400 Million Euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Yeezy sales added €150 million to Adidas’s operating profit for the first half the year, “an incremental amount,” the sportswear maker said. And Adidas reported a steeply lower operating profit for the half-year: €236 million, versus €828 million a year earlier. Adidas began selling its first batch of its remaining Yeezy shoe models in June. But Mr. Gulden refused to elaborate on how much the rapper was making from the sales. Adidas said it has set aside €110 million of its proceeds from the first sale of the Yeezy inventory to donate to organizations.

Persons: Ye, ” Bjorn Gulden, Gulden, “, ” Mr, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd, Robert K Organizations: Adidas, Defamation League, European Jewish Association, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Kraft, New England Patriots Locations: North America

☆ Europe’s Economy Expanded in Spring, and Inflation Has Eased
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Gross domestic product in the eurozone grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, a stronger result than predicted by economists. Italy, Austria and Latvia all saw output fall in the second quarter. Inflation across the eurozone dipped to an annual rate of 5.3 percent in July, down from 5.5 percent the previous month. “On the whole, the eurozone economy recorded another underwhelming quarter,” said Ricardo Amaro, a senior economist at Oxford Economics. He noted that “the second half of the year is likely to be as underwhelming, if not more than the first half, with the eurozone economy risking stagnation or worse.”

Persons: ”, Fritzi, KfW, Christine Lagarde, What’s, Lagarde, ’, Ricardo Amaro Organizations: Gross, European Central Bank, Oxford Economics Locations: Germany, Europe’s, Ukraine, Germany’s, Italy, Austria, Latvia, Spain, France, Europe, Russia

☆ Volkswagen Seeks to Regain Edge in China as It Cuts Delivery Forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But overall revenue increased 18.2 percent as the company stemmed some of its losses in China, where deliveries were down 1.2 percent. Western Europe provided the company with its strongest business, with 1.65 million vehicles ordered in the first half of the year, and 200,000 of them — or 12 percent — were electric vehicles, the company said. Volkswagen hopes that its investment in XPeng will help advance the German automaker’s electric vehicle software to the standards produced by Chinese manufacturers. Some analysts interpreted the move as a concession that Volkswagen was unable to compete with Chinese companies on the latest technology. But Oliver Blume, Volkswagen’s chief executive, expressed confidence that VW customers, including those in China, want more variety in their vehicles.

Persons: ”, Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Oliver Blume, Mr, Blume, “ Organizations: Volkswagen, Volkswagen Group Rus, China, BYD, Audi, SAIC, British, Center for Automotive Research, “, Tesla, Volkswagen Group, Porsche, Lamborghini, VW Locations: China, Western Europe, Russia, Avilon, Moscow, XPeng, Duisburg, Germany

☆ Tesla Wants to Double the Size of Its European Assembly Plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla wants to double the production capacity of its assembly plant outside Berlin to one million electric vehicles a year, a move that would make it the largest car plant in Europe at a time when German automakers are struggling to keep pace in the transition to electric vehicles. Since it began production in Grünheide 16 months ago, Tesla has disrupted the German automobile landscape. Over the first half of this year, for the first time, it eclipsed Volkswagen in electric vehicle sales. Volkswagen and other German automakers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have spent years fumbling their attempts to produce electric cars that can compete with Tesla in price and popularity. Across the continent in June, new registrations of electric cars increased more than 66 percent from a year earlier, outselling diesel cars for the first time, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Tesla, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association Locations: Berlin, Europe, Grünheide, Wolfsburg

☆ Germany Says China Trade Could Create Perilous Dependence
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Melissa Eddy | More About Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The new policy calls for export controls and the screening of investments by German companies doing business in China to protect the flow of sensitive technology and know-how. The strategy echoes themes from the European Union that urge “de-risking” ties with China. “We do not want to decouple from China, but minimize our risks. This includes strengthening our European economy as well as reducing dependencies,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister. “The more diverse trade and supply chains are set up, the more resilient our country is,” she added.

Persons: Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, “, ”, Annalena Baerbock Organizations: European Union Locations: China

Two shopping centers promptly sprang up to serve Russians looking for Western clothing, gifts, disposable diapers and alcohol. “It was a local, regional and national strategy to focus on turning toward Russia,” Mr. Roine said. More than 266,000 people from Russia crossed the nearby border station into Norway in 2019; last year, that number fell by more than 75 percent. For decades, the vast amounts of cod in the Barents Sea — home to one of the world’s last surviving stocks of the fish — have drawn people and businesses from both countries to this Arctic Circle community. Kirkenes’s most important industrial employer is Kimek, a shipbuilding company that has prospered by repairing commercial fishing boats known as trawlers, especially the Russian ones.

Persons: Russia ’, ” Mr, Roine Organizations: Arctic Council Locations: Russia, Soviet Union, Norway, Kirkenes

☆ German Government Slashes Spending, Except on the Military
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: Germany has long neglected military spending. Despite intense pressure from the United States, Germany last spent 2 percent of its G.D.P. on defense in 1991, a year after the reunification of the former East and West German nations, according to statistics from the World Bank. The United States is using incentives, including tax breaks, to lure businesses in the green energy and technology sectors. “Germany is increasingly falling behind when it comes to investment and location decisions,” said Tanja Gönner, general director of the German Federation of Industries.

Persons: Marcel Fratzscher, Lindner, ”, Tanja Gönner Organizations: World Bank, German Institute for Economic Research, German Federation of Industries Locations: Germany, United States, West, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Volkswagen Replaces Audi Chief Amid Pressure to Electrify
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The NewsVolkswagen is replacing the chief executive at its luxury brand Audi, naming Gernot Döllner to take over from Markus Duesmann, as the company seeks to accelerate its transition to electric vehicles. Mr. Döllner, who has served as Volkswagen’s leading strategist, will start his new role on Sept. 1, Audi said in a statement on Thursday. Audi, although profitable, is struggling to convert to battery power and compete with the growing threat from Chinese carmakers. Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s chief executive before Oliver Blume took over in September, brought Mr. Duesmann to Audi from BMW three years ago, with the hope that he could help the brand innovate and strengthen sales of its electric models. Audi is now working on its final generation of combustion engine models and plans to bring 10 new electric models to its lineup, ahead of plans to produce only E.V.s beginning in 2026.

Persons: Markus Duesmann, Döllner, Herbert Diess, Oliver Blume, Duesmann Organizations: Volkswagen, Audi, BMW

☆ Adidas Starts Unloading Its Yeezy Gear, to Benefit Anti-Hate Groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Adidas said its decision to sever ties with Ye cost the company €1.2 billion in lost sales and about €500 million in profit this year. Jonathan A. Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, which is among the groups that will benefit from the proceeds of the sale, welcomed Adidas’s decision as one fitting the complexity of the problem. But other groups noted that despite Adidas’s pledge to donate the proceeds, Ye will still make money off the sales. The Yeezy brand became a defining force in the sportswear industry and an incredibly lucrative cornerstone for Adidas. Adidas said it was considering further releases of the Yeezy inventory, but it did not give a timeline.

Persons: Ye, Gulden, Philonise Floyd, George Floyd, Jonathan A, Greenblatt, Mr, “, ”, Josef Schuster, Michael Jordan Organizations: Adidas, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Defamation League, Central Council of, Kanye, Nike Locations: Germany

☆ As U.S. Races Ahead, Europe Frets About Battery Factory Subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jack Ewing | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

European leaders complained for years that the United States was not doing enough to fight climate change. Officials have been traveling there to court one of Europe’s few homegrown battery companies, Northvolt. Led by a former Tesla executive, Northvolt is a small player in the global battery industry, but European leaders are offering it hundreds of millions of euros to build factories in Europe. Mr. Habeck visited in February to lobby the company to push ahead on its plan to build a factory near Hamburg, Germany. The company had considered postponing to invest in the United States instead.

Persons: Biden, Robert Habeck, Northvolt, Habeck Organizations: Northvolt, Tesla Locations: United States, Germany, France, Britain, China, South Korea, Vasteras, Stockholm, Europe, Hamburg

☆ Ugly Fight Over Climate Bill Exposes Cracks in German Coalition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Erika Solomon | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN — Germany’s coalition government was always an awkward trio of center-left Social Democrats, climate-conscious Greens and pro-business Free Democrats. Yet in the heady days after their election victory in 2021, the parties vowed to stick to a tradition of consensus-driven politics, keeping the drama behind closed doors. While the stakes would seem relatively minor, the level of vitriol has been anything but, reflecting a new era in which Germany’s once-staid politics have turned more fractious. No one is predicting a collapse of the coalition. But the public sparring has raised questions over how Germany will meet commitments to Europe’s climate goals — as well as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ability to maintain effective stewardship of Europe’s most powerful economy.

☆ Volkswagen Sells Its Russia Operations, Including an Assembly Plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Volkswagen has sold its assembly plant and other operations in Russia to a local auto dealership, more than a year after the German carmaker ceased production in the country following the invasion of Ukraine, the company said on Friday. Under the deal, which required approval from the Russian government, a Moscow-based dealership called Avilon acquired the assets of Volkswagen Group Rus, the carmaker said. Neither company specified a sales price, but Russia media citing local records said Avilon paid about 125 million euros ($135 million). But outrage over Moscow’s brutal war in Ukraine, combined with the difficulties coping with tough economic sanctions aimed at punishing Russia, have made the Russian market less attractive. Mercedes-Benz announced last month that it had sold its Russia division, including an assembly plant, to Avtodom, a Russian investor, roughly a year after it had suspended local manufacturing and the export of passenger cars and vans to Russia.

☆ Former Audi Chief to Plead Guilty in Emissions Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jack Ewing | Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rupert Stadler, the former chief executive of the automaker Volkswagen's Audi division, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in Germany related a vast emissions cheating scandal, becoming the highest-ranking executive to be convicted in the case, which changed the direction of the car industry. Mr. Stadler, 60, who was also a member of Volkswagen’s management board, was accused of allowing diesel cars made by Audi to remain on sale even after the parent company admitted in 2015 that millions of its vehicles were equipped with software designed to mask excess emissions. The scandal cost Volkswagen tens of billions of dollars in fines, legal settlements and lawyers’ fees and had a lasting impact on the auto industry. It inspired European lawmakers to impose much tighter limits on auto emissions, accelerating a transition from internal combustion engines to electric cars. Volkswagen became one of the first big German automakers to invest heavily in battery power, which executives saw as a way to restore the company’s tarnished reputation.

☆ Eurozone Prices Rose in April, as Central Bank Seeks to Tame Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Across the countries that use the euro currency, inflation rates varied. Food prices remained stubbornly high, while government intervention to tame the inflated cost of energy began to take hold. That deal is expected to set a precedent for other pay talks and could threaten the European Central Bank’s forecast that eurozone wage growth will peak this year. What’s Next: A decision by the European Central Bank. The inflation data will influence the European Central Bank’s decision on whether to continue raising interest rates in an effort to bring down inflation.

☆ Heat Pump Maker’s $13.3 Billion Sale Raises Questions in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The critical importance of heat pumps to the German economy was underscored this week when the sale of a family-owned maker of the heating machines to a U.S. company prompted a review by the government in Berlin. Carrier Global Corp. said Tuesday that it had agreed to pay 12 billion euros, or about $13.3 billion, to acquire a unit of Viessmann Group, based north of Frankfurt, that produces heat pumps. The cash-and-stock deal would allow Carrier to expand in Europe and capitalize on the green energy transition underway on the continent, the company said. It also comes days after Berlin announced a ban on new furnaces fired by fossil fuels, starting next year. “Climate change, sustainability requirements and geopolitical factors are driving an unprecedented energy transition in Europe,” David Gitlin, chief executive of Carrier, said in announcing the deal.

☆ Germany Quits Nuclear Power, Ending a Decades-Long Struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Melissa Eddy | Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It began as a movement of pacifists chaining themselves to fences outside nuclear power plants. Germany’s three remaining reactors will be shut down by Saturday — ending nuclear power generation in Europe’s largest economy. Britain, Finland and France are doubling down on nuclear energy as a source of reliable electricity and extremely low carbon emissions. Last year, Poland signed with Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear power plant, some 200 miles east of the German border. In the United States, the Biden administration is backing technology to build a new generation of smaller nuclear reactors as a tool of “mass decarbonization.”

☆ As U.S. Tries to Isolate China, German Companies Move Closer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Washington seeks to throttle economic ties with Beijing, two powerful engines of the German economy, Volkswagen and the chemical company BASF, are broadening their huge Chinese investments. Volkswagen, which has more than 40 plants in China, announced a new effort to tailor models to Chinese customers’ wishes, with features like in-dash karaoke machines, and will invest billions in local partnerships and production sites. It’s part of a theme unveiled by the German automaker last year: “In China for China.”BASF, with 30 production facilities in China, is pushing ahead with plans to spend 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) on a new chemical production complex that would rival in size its massive headquarters complex in Ludwigshafen, which covers about four square miles. Throughout Germany, executives are aware such investments run contrary to efforts by the United States to isolate China economically. They counter that revenue from China is essential for their businesses to thrive and grow in Europe.

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