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EURO 2012

FOOTBALL

Car workers get early night to watch football

German car makers are closing early on Friday so workers can catch the Euro 2012 quarter final where Germany plays Greece, with more promising the same if the team progresses in the tournament.

Published: 21 June 2012 10:43 CEST
Car workers get early night to watch football
Photo: DPA

Opel, Volkswagen and Daimler will let some plants shut up shop early, allowing employees working the late shift on Friday to leave at 7 pm instead of 9 pm so they can make the match, Die Welt newspaper said on Thursday.

But BMW staff will not be so lucky, as the company said demand was so high that time off was not an option. But if the German team were to get through to the next round, bosses said they would consider letting employees leave early to watch the semi-final.

For the fortunate ones who have been granted the evening off, the match is set to be a tense one – particularly as competition host Ukraine dropped out after denied an equalising goal against England.

The move has revived calls for goal line technology to be introduced – something Germany midfielders Sami Khedira and Thomas Müller are also supporting.

Germany face Greece in Friday’s Euro 2012 quarter-finals in Gdansk and the pair both said they hope the sport sees goal line technology introduced sooner rather than later.

On Wednesday, Sepp Blatter, the president of Football’s world governing body FIFA, tweeted: “After last night’s match (goal line technology) is no longer an alternative, but a necessity.”

Ukraine exited following their 1-0 defeat to England on Tuesday as the co-hosts were denied a second-half equaliser when the referee Viktor Kassai waved on play although replays showed Marko Devic’s shot had crossed the line.

As part of an experiment, this is the first European championship to have an assistant referee behind each goal, but that plainly did not help the Ukrainians.

The disallowed goal in Donetsk did not affect the line-up for the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as England and France qualified even though the Swedes beat the French 2-0 in Kiev.

Greece may have won the European Championships more recently than Germany – but in terms of honours, few sides in football can hold a candle to the Mannschaft, who have been European champions three times and finished runners-up on the same number of occasions.

On the biggest stage, Germany have been world champions three times and have the best record in World Cup history, having finished in the top four no fewer than 12 times, eclipsing even five-times winners Brazil and four-times winners Italy.

That compares to a solitary Euro 2004 win for Greece and only two appearances in the World Cup finals.

AFP/The Local/jcw

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WORKING IN GERMANY

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.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
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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