Dusseldorf The number of corona infections is so high that production even stalls. The Swiss solar module manufacturer Meyer Burger can only operate one of the two production lines at its location in Freiberg, Saxony. Because too many factory employees are sick with Corona or are in quarantine at home. The company cannot quantify the vaccination quota in the factory on request. In Saxony, the total number of second vaccinations is below 60 percent – lower than anywhere else in Germany.
The example may be extreme, but more and more companies are complaining that the number of infections is currently higher than in the first waves of the pandemic. This is shown by a Handelsblatt survey of Dax companies and large family businesses.
The chainsaw manufacturer Stihl, for example, speaks of a “significantly increased infection rate”. Large corporations are also reporting increasing levels of sickness: Vonovia has announced that the infections and quarantine cases “correspond to the infection rate across the country”. Allianz, BASF, BMW, Beiersdorf, Covestro and RWE are also talking about an increase in the number of cases – although the situation has “no impact on regular operations,” as an Eon spokesman asserts.
Most companies are reluctant to give concrete figures. The family company Berner, which trades in spare parts and consumables, for example for car repair shops and employs 2,000 people in this country, recently reported eleven new infections per week. This corresponds to an incidence of 550. In Germany it was most recently around 440.
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The engine manufacturer MTU has 40 active cases of infection among its 8,500 employees. The incidence of Henkel is lower than that of Düsseldorf, where the company is based. In the city, the value is around 300. The biotech company Qiagen in neighboring Hilden recently noted an increase in the number of infections, but “in the low single-digit range”.
Puma has a vaccination rate of 96 percent
We hear from Bayer, Deutsche Bank, Post, Symrise and Puma that there are currently no more infections than usual. The sporting goods manufacturer justifies this with its high vaccination rate. In the company headquarters in Herzogenaurach, 96 percent of the employees are vaccinated. According to the Handelsblatt survey, this is a top value in the Dax. Puma employs many young and international employees who often live in single households and therefore come to the office comparatively often.
In many other corporations, too, the rate of fully vaccinated people is higher than the national average of just under 69 percent. According to a voluntary survey, Eon assumes 95 percent; Allianz, BASF, Sartorius and Symrise speak of at least 80 percent. Bayer speaks of an “above-average level”, BMW mentions a “very high willingness to vaccinate”, and Henkel describes the “majority” of employees as vaccinated.
The family businesses express themselves similarly: Berner calls a vaccination rate of 90 percent, at the intralogistics specialist Jungheinrich it is at least “in some locations” above the national average. Medium-sized companies and corporations offer their employees booster vaccinations on a large scale and all report a high demand – sometimes also for initial vaccinations.
Many employees are back in the home office
Companies in Germany have been able to inquire about the vaccination status of their employees for almost two weeks in order to implement the 3G rule in offices and production halls. The Infection Protection Act stipulates that only those who have been vaccinated, those who have recovered and those who have tested negative can have access.
However, many companies do not want to disclose their vaccination quota. For example, Siemens and Siemens Energy point out that the 3G status may be used for access controls, but the data may not be processed beyond this. Adidas explains that many employees continue to work in the home office and therefore no statement can be made.
14th
percent
was the last office occupancy rate in Germany, the data from the company Locatee are not representative.
In fact, the offices of the republic have become much emptier again. The companies apparently strictly adhere to the new home office obligation. “All employees who have no compelling operational reasons to be on site have to work from home,” says Merck, for example. At the Hamburg-based logistics specialist Jungheinrich, office workers are also encouraged to work from home.
Data from the Zurich company Locatee show how empty the offices are again. On behalf of its customers, it measures anonymously their office occupancy. The measurements are not representative, but give an indication: Most recently, the attendance rate was only 14 percent. Before the home office was compulsory at the end of November, it was 25 percent. And just before the pandemic broke out, the number was 60 to 70 percent.
Assistance: Martin Buchenau