Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

JOBS

Coronavirus: Germany plans €40 billion ‘rescue package’ for freelancers and small businesses

The German government is planning a €40 billion aid package for freelancers and small businesses of up to 10 employees who are affected by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 19 March 2020 12:27 CET
Coronavirus: Germany plans €40 billion 'rescue package' for freelancers and small businesses
Photo: DPA

Around €10 billion of this is to be handed out as direct subsidies to ailing one-person businesses and micro-enterprises, while €30 billion will come in the form of loans, Spiegel Online initially reported. The amount and structure of the aid could change over the course of Thursday.

Up to five million self-employed people work in Germany, according to government estimates. Many of them have lost jobs or work due to the corona crisis in recent weeks.

Those most affected are the providers of so-called social consumption, such as smaller scale artists (Kleinkünstler) or musicians.

Grants for struggling employees and businesses

Called the Solidarity Fund (Solidaritätsfond), the new rescue fund is being organised by the Finance Ministry and the Economics Ministry

While the government plans to quickly distribute the grants, it will be checking in retrospect whether those who received them were eligible.

That means that, if deemed that the coronavirus pandemic did not have too adverse of an effect on their business, this aid could be converted into loans. 

However, these loans will have a low interest rate since they come from the government. 

Germany’s newly assembled “Corona Cabinet” will further flesh out the details of the funds later on Thursday, it was reported.

The new measure is necessary because self-employed people and small businesses may not take advantage of the liquidity aid presented last week by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Economics Minister Peter Altmaier, which was largely aimed at medium-sized or large enterprises.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s minister president Armin Laschet also announced on Thursday that the state government was freeing up €25 billion in state aid to secure jobs, with other states expected to announce their own economic measures to protect more jobs.  

READ ALSO: Germany unleashes biggest post-war aid package against coronavirus

Vocabulary

Rescue package – (das) Rettungspaket

Subsidies/grants – (die) Zuschüsse

Microenterprise – (das) Kleinstunternehmen

Loan/credit – (das) Darlehen

Fund – (das) Sondervermögen

We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

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. 

SHOW COMMENTS