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☆ Germany's Airport Security Staff to Ground Flights in Nationwide Protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - Security staff at some of Germany's biggest airports, including the global hub Frankfurt, walked off the job on Thursday, grounding flights and piling pain on Europe's largest economy. The 24-hour strike, called by labour union Verdi, is the latest in a series of industrial actions that has paralysed the country's transportation sector in recent weeks. Almost 200,000 travellers will be affected by over 1,100 flight cancellations or delays, the German airports association ADV estimated on Wednesday as some of Germany's biggest airports including Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart said there would be no departures for passengers. Last week, German train drivers had staged their longest railway strike to date following a week-long nationwide protest by German farmers who had blocked the country's roads. On Friday, industrial action is expected to bring public transport to a halt in every federal state except Bavaria.

Persons: Verdi, Ralph Beisel, Wolfgang Pieper, Nette Nöstlinger, Klaus Lauer Organizations: BERLIN, Security, ADV Locations: Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Germany, Bavaria

☆ Security Staff Strike Planned at German Airports on Thursday - Ntv
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Verdi union plans a nationwide strike of airport security workers on Thursday, the ntv broadcaster and other media reported on Tuesday. Sources in the aviation industry said the strike would take place. Germany has grown increasingly accustomed to strikes impacting air and rail travel as workers demand higher wages to cope with the impact of inflation. Verdi plans a separate public transport strike for Friday across 15 of Germany's 16 states. (Reporting by Klaus Lauer; writing by Rachel More; editing by Matthias Williams)

Persons: Verdi, Klaus Lauer, Rachel More, Matthias Williams Organizations: BERLIN, ntv, Reuters Locations: Germany

A sign is pictured outside an Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant at 50 ImClone Drive in Branchburg, New Jersey, March 5, 2021. Incretins are peptide-based drugs such as Mounjaro that mimic gut hormones to suppress appetite and stimulate insulin secretion. Lilly said it had announced investments of more than $11 billion in global manufacturing in the past three years. Major production sites that Lilly runs outside of its U.S. home market are in Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and China. The new Alzey site will employ up to 1,000 highly skilled workers such as engineers, technicians and scientists, said Lilly.

Persons: Eli Lilly, Mike Segar, Lilly, Karl Lauterbach, Lauterbach, generics, Patrick Wingrove, Matthias Williams, Jason Neely, David Evans Organizations: Company, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, U.S ., Novo Nordisk, European Union, pharma, The U.S ., Thomson Locations: Branchburg , New Jersey, Germany, Alzey, U.S, United States, Danish, Berlin, Fegersheim, France, European, Indiana , North Carolina, Limerick, Ireland, Spain, Italy, China, The U.S

An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured at 50 ImClone Drive in Branchburg, New Jersey, March 5, 2021. The company declined to comment on the plans but news conferences are planned in Alzey, where sources say the plant will be built, and Berlin on Friday. Other people familiar with the plans told Reuters that at least 1,000 jobs would be created. Eli Lilly said it would unveil "far-reaching investment plans" at Friday's news conference, which will be attended by Germany's economy and health ministers. Mounjaro's success helped Lilly post a 37% gain in third-quarter revenues to $9.5 billion, topping Wall Street estimates.

Persons: Eli Lilly, Mike Segar, Mounjaro, TSMC, Lilly's, Lilly, Rene Wagner, Klaus Lauer, Andreas Rinke, Ludwig Burger, Thomas Escritt, Madeline Chambers, Miranda Murray, Christina Fincher Organizations: Company, REUTERS, Basf, Reuters, BASF, U.S ., U.S, Intel, European Union, Novo Nordisk, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Branchburg , New Jersey, BERLIN, Germany, Alzey, Berlin, U.S, Ukraine, European, Indianapolis, Danish, Eisai

An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured at 50 ImClone Drive in Branchburg, New Jersey, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. pharma company Eli Lilly (LLY.N) plans an investment in the single-digit billion dollar range in a new plant in western Germany, people familiar with the matter told Reuters after the company called a news conference for Friday. Eli Lilly said it would unveil "far-reaching investment plans" at Friday's news conference, which will be attended by Germany's economy and health ministers. Mounjaro's success helped Lilly post a 37% gain in third-quarter revenues to $9.5 billion, topping Wall Street estimates. The group's market value has ballooned to around $580 billion, up more than 65% so far this year.

Persons: Eli Lilly, Mike Segar, Mounjaro, TSMC, Lilly's, Lilly, Rene Wagner, Klaus Lauer, Ludwig Burger, Thomas Escritt, Chizu Nomiyama, Jane Merriman Organizations: Company, REUTERS, Rights, . pharma, Reuters, U.S ., U.S, Intel, European Union, Novo Nordisk, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Branchburg , New Jersey, Germany, Rhineland, Palatinate, U.S, Ukraine, European, Indianapolis, Danish, Eisai

☆ Google to pay German publishers 3.2 mln eur per year on interim basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman passes the logo from the web search engine provider Google during the digital society festival 're:publica', at the Arena Berlin in Berlin, Germany June 9, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) has agreed to pay German publishers 3.2 million euros ($3.38 million) a year for its publication of news content pending a decision from the German patent office (DPMA) on the issue, the sides said in separate statements on Thursday. The U.S. search engine operator reached the agreement with Corint Media, an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of German and international publishers including Sat.1, ProSieben, RTL, Axel Springer and CNBC. The sides had previously agreed on a one-off payment of 5.8 million euros by Google for the period since the introduction of new press ancillary copyright legislation in 2021. ($1 = 0.9481 euros)Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Annegret, Axel Springer, Christine Jury, Fischer, Klaus Lauer, Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray Organizations: Google, Arena, REUTERS, Rights, Corint Media, Sat, RTL, CNBC, Spiegel, Zeit, Corint, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, U.S

☆ German housing prices show sharpest drop since 2000 year over year, statistics office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Residential property prices fell by 9.9% year-on-year, the steepest decline since the start of data collection in 2000, the federal statistics office said. Prices fell by 1.5% on the quarter, with steeper declines in larger cities than in more sparsely populated areas. In cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, apartment prices fell by 9.8% and single and two-family house prices dropped by 12.6% on the year. Building permits for apartments in Germany declined 31.5% in July from a year earlier, the statistics office disclosed on Monday, as construction prices rose by almost 9% on the year. German housing industry association GdW on Friday sounded the alarm over the situation calling for government support for construction companies.

Persons: GdW, Riham Alkousaa, Klaus Lauer, Kirsti Knolle, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Germany

☆ German small and medium-sized enterprises showed resilience in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - German small and medium-sized enterprises achieved strong results in 2022 despite the difficult overall economic situation, a report of the German Savings Banks Association (DSGV) showed on Tuesday. "When the impression is given these days that nothing in Germany works anymore, I answer that small and medium enterprises work," said Helmut Schleweis, president of the DSGV, at the presentation of a study about small and medium enterprises. Revenues rose last year by an average of 14% and profits by 17% year-on-year, the report showed. High energy prices in Germany could make companies shift more of their production abroad, Schleweis said, pointing to another big challenge for the German economy. "This would benefit not only a few large companies, but also medium-sized businesses."

Persons: Helmut Schleweis, Schleweis, Maria Martinez, Klaus Lauer, Rachel More Organizations: German Savings Banks Association, Thomson Locations: Germany

☆ Energy crisis and inflation push more German firms into insolvency -study
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - The number of German firms pushed into insolvency rose in the first half of this year at the fastest pace in more than two decades due to the energy crisis, inflation and rising interest rates, a study by credit agency Creditreform showed on Thursday. "The enormous cost burdens caused by excessively high energy and material costs are making an effect," said Creditreform chief economist Patrik-Ludwig Hantzsch. Such a combination backfires on firms and leads to "an economic dead end" in a rising interest rate environment, Hantzsch said. Creditreform sees a further rise in insolvencies over the rest of the year as high inflation and rising interest rates will keep hampering German businesses. Reporting by Klaus Lauer, writing by Andrey Sychev, editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Creditreform, Patrik, Ludwig Hantzsch, Hantzsch, Klaus Lauer, Andrey Sychev, Susan Fenton Organizations: Thomson Locations: Germany, insolvencies

☆ After jobs warning, Germany's Axel Springer says AI can liberate journalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"For newsrooms, AI opens up new paths and freedoms. While Springer did not comment on the number of jobs at risk, company sources told Reuters a low three-digit number of employees would ultimately have to leave. Fadlallah said his focus was on regulatory challenges and the opportunities the technology opens up for consumers. Axel Springer is active in more than 40 countries and employs more than 18,000 people worldwide. Alongside its German titles, the firm owns English-language news website Politico, U.S. media company Insider and classified portals StepStone and AVIV.

Persons: Axel Springer, Samir Fadlallah, Springer, Fadlallah, Klaus Lauer, Anna Mackenzie Organizations: Reuters, Bild, Politico, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Berlin, AVIV

☆ German media group Axel Springer eyes AI acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 9 (Reuters) - German media giant Axel Springer will establish a dedicated mergers-and-acquisitions team to look at firms specialising in artificial intelligence, CEO Matthias Doepfner said in an internal podcast to employees obtained by Reuters. The M&A competence centre "needs to entirely focus on acquisitions - early-stage acquisitions or later-stage acquisitions in AI companies - that can be, for various reasons, important or attractive for Axel Springer," Doepfner said. But the strategy could also turn up Axel Springer's next StepStone, he added. If the market environment improves, Axel Springer aims to go public with StepStone, a popular online jobs portal, this year. Doepfner said he is particularly interested in AI technology that seeks to disrupt Axel Springer's business models of advertising, e-commerce and journalism.

Persons: Axel Springer, Matthias Doepfner, Doepfner, Axel Springer's, Klaus Lauer, Rachel More, Miranda Murray Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: BERLIN

☆ German public sector wage talks fail, enter truce phase
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - German public sector employers and unions representing around 2.5 million workers entered a truce phase on Thursday after talks failed to resolve a wage dispute, days after the country's biggest strikes in decades. A third round of negotiations lasting three days ended late on Wednesday without result, the Verdi and dbb unions said. "Despite clear movement, the employers were not prepared to make sufficient concessions to the employees on the minimum amount," said Verdi chief Frank Werneke. The Interior Ministry announced on Twitter in the early hours of Thursday that the talks would enter arbitration, bringing an independent mediator to the table. Public sector employers have offered an 8% pay raise, or a minimum of 300 euros ($325) per month, Faeser said.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT, March 27 (Reuters) - A massive strike in Germany was set to begin early Monday, crippling mass transport and airports in one of the biggest walkouts in decades as Europe's largest economy reels from soaring inflation. But officials in Germany have made clear that their fight is only about pay. The Verdi union is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. Railway and transport union EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) and bus companies. Employers are also warning that higher wages for transport workers would result in higher fares and taxes to make up the difference.

Two of Germany's largest airports, Munich and Frankfurt, suspended flights, while long-distance rail services were cancelled by rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL). "Millions of passengers who depend on buses and trains are suffering from this excessive, exaggerated strike," a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said on Monday. At the same time, in France they go on strike all the time about something," said passenger Lars Boehm. The head of the Bundesbank Joachim Nagel said last week Germany needed to avoid a price-wage spiral. "Despite signs of second-round effects, we have not observed a destabilising price-wage spiral in Germany so far."

[1/5] A general view inside the Munich Airport during a strike called by the German trade union Verdi over a wage dispute, in Munich, Germany, March 26, 2023. "The people are not only underpaid, they are hopelessly overworked," Frank Werneke, head of the Verdi labour union, told Bild am Sonntag. The Verdi union is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. Railway and transport union EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) and bus companies. "It is a matter of survival for many thousands of employees to get a considerable pay rise," he said.

The Verdi union is negotiating on behalf of around 2.5 million employees in the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. Railway and transport union EVG negotiates for around 230,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) and bus companies. Verdi has called on around 120,000 employees in the transport and infrastructure sectors, including ground and air traffic service providers, shipping, motorways and municipal ports, to join the strikes. We want a negotiable offer," said Martin Burkert, the chairman of the EVG union, which represents workers at 50 transport companies, including railway operator Deutsche Bahn. German airport association ADV also condemned the strikes expected to hit around 380,000 air travellers on Monday as all airports across Germany, except Berlin, would come to a virtual standstill.

☆ Analysis: Wage catch-up to prolong Europe's inflation battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Part of the wage increase is understandable," said Jens Ulbrich, chief economist at Germany's Bundesbank. Yet the rapid wage growth underway now will hamper the European Central Bank's efforts to get inflation back to its 2% target, and possibly force it to keep interest rates high for longer. "We are taking a first step, but much more is needed to reverse the years of lopsided wage growth," Kager added. "The inflation trend, food and especially energy prices are tearing deep holes in our workers' budgets," ver.di Chairman Frank Werneke said. "The high levels of wage growth projected for 2023 and 2024 can be expected to make wages an increasingly dominant driver of underlying inflation in the euro area," Lane says.

☆ Czech group PPF takes 9.1% stake in Germany's ProSiebensat.1
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRAGUE/BERLIN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Czech investment group PPF has taken a 9.1% stake in ProSiebensat.1 (PSMGn.DE), PPF said on Tuesday, becoming the German broadcaster's second-largest investor behind Italy's MFE-MediaforEurope (MFEB.MI). "PPF believes the digital transformation of ProSieben will create value for all shareholders," privately-owned PPF said in a statement. "PPF is looking forward to liaising with the management and supervisory board of ProSieben in this digitalization process." The group, which also owns the CME group that operates dozens of channels in six central and east European markets, is now controlled by Kellner's widow, Renata Kellnerova. Reporting by Jan Lopatka, Klaus Lauer and Christoph Steitz Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Carmaker Stellantis upbeat about future of German brand Opel - magazine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of Stellantis is seen on a company's building in Velizy-Villacoublay near Paris, France, February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesBERLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis is upbeat about the outlook of its German subsidiary Opel which it believes will be able to keep operating as a separate brand, the company's Europe chief Uwe Hochgeschurtz told magazine Automobilwoche. "I'm happy with the brand and with its array of products," Hochgeschurtz was quoted as saying in the interview published on Sunday. Hochgeschurtz blamed Opel's loss of market share largely due to inadequate transport capacity to deliver the cars to sellers. "Given the lack of truck drivers, there is only limited transport capacity.

☆ Ukraine war expected to cost Germany 160 billion euros by year-end
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The Ukraine war will have cost the German economy around 160 billion euros ($171 billion), or some 4% of its gross domestic output, in lost value creation by the end of the year, the head of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) said. That means GDP per capita in Europe's largest economy will be 2,000 euros lower it would otherwise have been, DIHK chief Peter Adrian told the "Rheinische Post". Germany, which for decades relied on relatively cheap Russian pipeline gas, now has especially high energy prices compared with the United States that has its own natural gas reserves, while France has abundant nuclear power. "The gas price is around three-five times higher than in the United States," he said, adding electricity was four times as expensive as in France. ($1 = 0.9351 euros)Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Sarah Marsh; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Websites of several German airports down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The websites of at least three German airports were disrupted on Thursday, a day after a major IT failure at Lufthansa left thousands of passengers stranded at Frankfurt airport. Among the airports affected were Dusseldorf, Nuremberg and Dortmund, but sites for Germany's biggest airports, in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin, were operating normally. Focus Online, which initially reported the outage, gave no reason for the problem. "We are troubleshooting", said a spokesperson for Dortmund airport, adding it was unlikely that the failure was due to a regular overload. Reporting by Klaus Lauer Writing by Miranda Murray Editing by Madeline ChambersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Operator warns of 'massive disruptions' in German airports strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

German trade union Verdi on Wednesday called on workers at Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dortmund, Hanover and Bremen airports to go on a 24-hour strike, saying collective bargaining efforts had made little progress. "On Friday, February 17, 2023, there will therefore be massive disruptions to air traffic," said Fraport (FRAG.DE), the operator of Frankfurt airport, which counted more than 48 million passengers in 2022. The walkout also coincides with the start of the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC), which brings hundreds of delegates to the Bavarian capital, including several global leaders. The issue would be discussed with the airport on Thursday, the Verdi spokesperson added. The union is currently in negotiations for three groups of workers: ground service staff, public sector officials and aviation security workers.

☆ Strike over pay at Berlin airport grounds all flights -operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] A view shows empty check-in counters and kiosks, during a general strike by employees over pay demands, at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Michele TantussiBERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Staff at Germany's BER airport in capital Berlin went on strike to press their pay demands on Wednesday and the airport operator said all regular passenger flights were cancelled as a result. The Ver.di union called on airport staff in ground services, aviation security and at the airport company to strike in the wage dispute. It called the one-day work stoppage over what it said was insufficient progress in wage talks. Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German business morale brightens further in January - Ifo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File PhotoBERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - German business morale brightened in January as Europe's largest economy started the new year with easing inflation and an improved outlook, a survey said on Wednesday. The Ifo institute said its business climate index rose to 90.2, in line with consensus according to a Reuters poll of analysts and up from a reading of 88.6 in December. "The German economy is starting the new year with more confidence," Ifo's president Clemens Fuest said. The increase is driven by considerably less pessimistic expectations, while companies were, however, somewhat less satisfied with their current situation, Ifo said. "The Ifo business climate has recovered significantly for the third time in a row as the easing on the gas market further diminished companies' fears of a severe recession," Commerzbank's chief economist Joerg Kraemer said.

☆ Strike over pay grounds all flights at Berlin airport, operator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - All flights were cancelled at Germany's BER airport in the capital Berlin on Wednesday, the operator said, as staff went on strike for the day to press pay demands. The Ver.di union called on airport staff in ground services, aviation security and at the airport company to strike in the wage dispute. It called the one-day work stoppage over what it said was insufficient progress in the three parallel wage talks. [1/7] Demonstrators hold a banner during a general strike by employees over pay demands, at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), in Schoenefeld near Berlin, Germany January 25, 2023. A source told Reuters that a draft of this report forecast 6% inflation this year and 2.8% for 2024.

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