The Verdi trade union sees all 5,000 jobs in Germany at risk if the energy company is broken up.
(Photo: Uniper)
Dusseldorf The Verdi union has warned against breaking up the energy company Uniper, which has gotten into trouble as a result of the gas crisis. “We want to keep Uniper as a whole,” said Christoph Schmitz, member of the Verdi federal executive board, in an interview with the Reuters news agency published on Monday.
The proposal by the Finnish parent company Fortum to restructure Uniper and put the troubled parts of the company under state control obviously amounts to a breakup. “We strictly reject that. Then all 5000 jobs in Germany would be threatened.”
Uniper has asked the state for help because of the high losses in the gas business due to the throttling of gas supplies in Russia and has also spoken out in favor of the federal government getting involved.
The federal government has promised help, but is examining other options in addition to participation. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck had declared that he also saw the majority owner from Finland as having an obligation. Against initially strong resistance, Fortum took over the majority of Uniper in March 2020 and now holds almost 80 percent of the shares.
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Fortum boss Markus Rauramo told Reuters last Saturday: “We have to assume that the problems with gas procurement will continue in the medium term and that prices will remain high or continue to rise. Therefore, the system-critical German parts of the company should come under the control of the state that has the necessary creditworthiness.”
Open Conflict Warning
The aim of Fortum’s proposal is for the federal government to become the owner of a subsidiary into which only all risks would be brought, criticized trade unionist Schmitz. “If Fortum should prevail with his proposal, there will be an open conflict with us.”
Uniper is one of the largest German energy companies. The company, which employs around 11,500 people worldwide, is one of the country’s most important electricity producers. Uniper operates a number of gas and coal-fired power plants in Europe and has a large trading business in raw materials and energy products. The group should be retained, said Schmitz, adding: “We are prepared for the fact that there could also be restructuring in such a process.”
The trade unionist emphasized that Verdi would very much welcome a direct participation by the federal government in Uniper, including a majority stake. The federal government could withdraw at any time. “The federal government could help shape it, even with a strategy towards renewable energies and hydrogen.” Schmitz hopes for a quick decision to help the company. “It’s a pretty tough situation, especially for the workforce.”
More: Finland against further financial help for Uniper from Fortum
