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Merkel launches economic stimulus package

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet on Wednesday approved a stimulus package aimed at helping Europe's biggest economy and the world's top exporter avoid the worst effects of a sharp global slowdown.

Merkel launches economic stimulus package
Photo: DPA

“I believe we are agreed that we must act now … and send a signal that we will have bad news in 2009 but that we want to do something about it,” Merkel said. “With this we will build a bridge until things get better again in 2010.”

Germany, which accounts for a third of eurozone activity, is widely expected to enter a serious slowdown and may already be in a technical recession if, as expected, output fell for the second straight quarter in the July to September period.

Last Monday, the widely-watched Ifo indicator showed business confidence dropping in October to its lowest point in more than five years, and the government has slashed its 2009 growth forecast to just 0.2 percent, the slowest rate of growth Germany last suffered a recession in 2003.

Merkel has stressed that any measures would be “targeted”, with Berlin highly critical of proposals by French President Nicolas Sarkozy – whose country holds the current EU presidency – for Europe-wide state intervention on a massive scale.

Instead the package, which the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday would cost €23 billion ($30 billion), will be smaller-scale, she has said, focusing on tax breaks, state-backed corporate loans and infrastructure projects to keep economic activity ticking over ahead of a hoped-for recovery in 2010.

Berlin also wants to combine the measures with progress on reducing the country’s carbon footprint by hiring construction firms to make public buildings such as schools and hospitals more energy efficient, and through tax incentives on low-emission cars.

This in turn is aimed at giving a helping hand to Germany’s huge but struggling automakers like Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW, who so far have been hit hardest by the global cool-down. Merkel also wants to switch to an emissions-based car tax system.

Ten months ahead of an election, Merkel’s left-right cabinet was also expected to put in place measures that will help mitigate an expected rise in unemployment next year.

Berlin has already rushed through a €480-billion ($605-million) rescue package for the country’s banks including making available €80 billion in fresh capital to stricken banks to shore up their battered balance sheets.

One casualty of the government’s efforts – coupled with an expected fall in tax revenues because of the slowdown – has been Merkel’s aim to achieve a balanced federal budget in 2011. On Tuesday Merkel said the new aim was to manage this in the next legislative period, which runs to 2013.

Gernot Nerb, chief economist at the Ifo institute, told AFP said that many of the measures such as the state-guaranteed loans, making certain assets and costs tax deductible and bringing forward infrastructure investment would help stimulate economic activity.

But other experts say the measures do not go far enough, and the public is also sceptical: An Emnid opinion poll in Bild am Sonntag suggested that 70 percent of Germans feel that Merkel’s measures will prove futile.

The package comes a day before the European Central Bank was widely expected to provide further support to the economy by slashing interest rates, a month after the ECB, the US Federal Reserve and five other central banks lowered rates in an exceptional coordinated action to boost financial markets.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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