Transcripts For DW Made In Germany 20240712

A handful of astronauts ever see the world from this perspective all the rest of us remain on the ground and have nowhere else to go so in that sense and we all in this together how well are we weathering the crisis how will the pandemic reshape our world thats all focused on made in germany today welcome for germans and germany enthusiastic this is news but a company stress enough how much germanys small and medium sized businesses are the absolute backbone of the economy and many fear that they are at much greater risk of going on the because of the freeze an Economic Activity than the bigger well known companies are report them into a smith has been tracking the fortunes of a few Small Business owners a rollercoaster ride few have ever experienced before. Lets target the last few days have been an emotional roller coaster. As a fund and i went from thinking ok i quit to. I cant face this and im just going to ride it out to the good lord whats happening in the world. But life goes on life always goes on. Here to an abandoned workplace. Alexander manufactures machines to make ice cream but now theres no market for them across germany fairgrounds at amusement parks are shouted orders are down by 50 percent. For spring is usually our busiest time thats when we get most of our business weve scaled down production and the workforce took holiday for which. Came outside berlin this company that makes advertising materials has also seen the drop in clients its off to to switch focus. On a friend of mine a local pharmacist called me up and said her pharmacy needed protective plexiglass screens and shed gone to the Hardware Store to see if they could make Something Like that. Then she told us because she knows we make lettering for example out of plexiglas we have lasers machinery know how so she asked us to make them screen on what we came up with the design the very same day it was the someday get some screens ready and assemble them on monday and thats how we switched to making plexiglass protective screens. Young different kit from expunge here speaking from export when youre probably wondering why im calling. Well i noticed that you bought some trainers 2 years ago. This they must be getting a bit worn out by now so i thought id call and see if you want to new pair. Since customers cant come to his shop frank it has decided to drum up business with some cold calling. Most of his staff are at home and getting paid according to the state back to short time work scheme. The occasional customer agrees to make a purchase. The stores have been shut for 12 days now feels like much much longer but its becoming more normal. And that distracts me from the severity of the situation. Due to enough to. Delivers the orders by bike that saves money and its environmentally friendly thats a priority for him even during the pandemic. But there just arent many orders he doesnt have any savings to fall back on if things carry on like this hell go out of business and if he would. Germanys trying hard to prevent businesses from folding as they run out of order and money more than that it has created what it calls a protective shield to quote protect Peoples Health safe jobs support companies and maintain social cohesion its bailout programs amount to 1. 00 trillion euros so far thats a huge sum close to huff of germanys g. D. P. But there is more its also lowering the value added tax and that is designed to help the public at large us consume is by making goods and services somewhat cheaper its boosting investment in eco friendly thick knology and providing Financial Support to municipalities and local authorities but of course a huge chunk of the money. Its going to businesses in the form of various schemes that includes cheap loans as well as learn guarantees and then there is courts of bite short term work it takes the pressure off companies and helps workers keep their jobs and maintain income this scheme made in germany is joining the attention of countries around the world. Susanna schmidt who had seen the German Chemicals company. Because of the corona virus crisis there is less for her to do so she currently only goes to work 2 days a week and is paid for those days by her boss times are tough so the company could terminate contracts but instead its signed on to a short time work scheme which is part of germanys government Unemployment Insurance system workers can keep their jobs while receiving partial Unemployment Benefits that costs the state less than paying out full Unemployment Benefits to workers whove been sacked. This scheme applies if at least 10 percent of a companys workforce have at least 10 percent less to do than usual whatever size the company. For the 3 days a week susanna is not working the short time work scheme pays 60 percent of what she would have earned after deductions and with 20 percent paid by her employer she earns 80 percent of her usual salary that should be enough to get by on during this time her Health Insurance and Pension Fund Contributions are also covered by the government. In april German Companies put almost a 3rd of their workforce on short time work more than ever before. During the last major financial and economic crisis in 2009 millions were also put on short time work the scheme saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. Other countries have adopted this german model. The cost of the program has soared cheering the coronavirus prices an estimated 34000000000. 00 euros so far in order to support workers like Susanna Schmidt the government will go into debt the question now is how much new debt she is willing or able to take on. Many businesses are desperately trying to stay afloat using creativity and relying on the governments help for some its starting to resemble business as usual while others will have to get used to a new normal we rejoin for part 2 of his chronicle of lockdown and reopening. Alexander kyle and his team are resuming Production Spring is in the air and ice cream parlors are reopening so they hope orders might start to trickle in. Until that happens theyre doing repairs and maintenance having something to do helps lift the spirits. Journalists arent allowed to go on location to film reports they could spread the virus only a single camera person can go out interviews are done via video calls. Were building up inventory for now we assume that as the lockdown eases our customers will reactivate existing orders and start spending money again. In the house and thats really the challenge was finding ways to involve the people who do the metalworking or the graphics in the new production process. Saying ok today youre not welding youre sticking lettering on plexiglass screens and helping with packaging id say that was the biggest problem the hardest adjustment. Was the. April the peak of the Coronavirus Crisis in germany with no income frank here gets a loan of 15000 euros from the state. And the Financial Aid is crucial it helps take some of the pressure off. We dont need to pay it back here. And the municipality our landlord says we dont have to pay rent at the moment otherwise things are normal we have to stop. Ready and waiting the a definitely helps. Us of even find it. Weve had to tap into our financial reserves letting people go is not an option we need our employees we owe them a lot and were paying them. For the food were glad we found something to do and no one has to sit around at home and rely on money from the state by making flexi glass screens were able to keep everybody on we dont need to send anyone home. At the end of april the State Government says shops can reopen. Frank yet informs his customers via social media that hes back and raring to go. So this is been day one of the great reopening. And it was amazing to have real contact with our customers again martin can contact it was fun thank you for being there all the best. The mood improving plans are being hatched again this machine just arrived from china. And was only going to say youre not sure what to do with the 3 d. Printer or how to use it you still have to work on the always like that with us we buy new equipment and it stands around at 1st because we dont know what to do with it we just want to ownership is always like that with the lasers they just stood around to be identified to use and now we use them all the time. To come out and after and. Were slowly getting back to normal. Now we have 3 categories of goods. Long mom im. Running shoes or running stuff in general. Then cycling on. Cyclists. Also. Yet so many are moving more into hiking so im feeling quite positive about things at the moment. All in all we got off quite lightly considering the kind of business were in. Of course weve taken a hit. But when i look around and see how others are fairing restaurants and the Food Service Sector in general i must say we are in relatively good shape. Still the long drawn out crisis is not over yet many peoples financial reserves have already been depleted and there might well be a 2nd wave of the coronavirus and all the anxieties of recent months would come rushing back. Do pandemics have a Silver Lining i know that may seem like an inappropriate question but finding the good in between the doom and gloom might help us handle this whole situation just a little bit better so lets look back at Major Public Health crises in the past in their aftermath some things did improve in important ways heres a swift trip through nearly every millenia of pandemics and. Pandemics bring death and economic devastation but they can also be a catalyst for change progress and innovation. In the 14th century the bubonic plague that caused huge boils and breathing difficulties killed a 3rd of europes population. As a result labor became scarce and more expensive that triggered a burst of innovation. When mills and the Printing Press helped to replace human labor houses a brick can stone rather than low. Made life harder for rats and fleas which spread the disease. Or take cholera a bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhea it devastated many cities in the 19th century in 1902 it killed 8600 people in hamburg and cost the economy 400000000 marks the city had failed to build a Sewerage System and provide clean water sewage for them built in poor neighborhoods leave. The flu pandemic of 1900 may have killed 50000000 people its known as the spanish flu but it started in the United States where the virus jumped from pigs to people. While the city of st louis went into lockdown philadelphia carried on its normal and even put on the large parades it had twice as many deaths and louis. More people died in europe in 1918 of the flu than were killed in world war one including many young soldiers in response more attention was paid to hygiene and advances were made in the religion. And what about the current coronavirus. Rather just to epidemiologists have overseen an unprecedented shutdown of the economy in many lands thats left Many Companies struggling to survive. But at least for a while air pollution dropped sharply. Down and working from home have boosted Digital Technologies for Communication Administration and medicine thats one way corona may be changing the world. And there is another way that this crisis could be a catalyst for a Better Future to promote more eco friendly and responsible companies thats what many germans as well as the left and green opposition parties hopeful that the state could use its grants loans and guarantees to steer its economy towards more sustainability and financial responsibility but if you get into the nitty gritty of whos getting what and how that doesnt seem to be happening. The Coronavirus Crisis has been wearing people down for months for Many Companies revenue has all but dried up the government has had to step in. If your state makes so much money out of tax revenue its legitimate to establish certain criteria. Major Blue Chip Companies requested and received Government Support for example germanys Largest Airline and geo finance and has protested against its bailout it says probably shift profits to tax havens. Its like stealing from the doctor whos trying to save your life. If the state and the people shells out vast sums to save Big Companies shouldnt it also set the terms of the worlds changed what Society Needs is solidarity. The once tight fisted government suddenly disperses huge sums. Company 6 gets a credit line of 1500000000 euro sic on a me which owns Electronics Retail chains gets a loan of 1700000000. Travel group to eat gets a loan of 1800000000. And added baskets loans of about 3000000000. Tops the table but the package worth 9000000000. 00 euro loans plus Equity Capital the state will buy new shares to take a 20 percent stake. Without a bailout would collapse Global Travel has almost stopped in its tracks down 80 percent since march. As its losing more than a 1000000 euros an hour the state may be the largest shareholder but according to law it wont influence management but intends quote to exercise the Voting Rights that attach to the shares only under exceptional circumstances such as protection against a takeover. The question is why would this not be the moment to insist on say measures to enhance climate protection. Plans are. Made to reduce its emissions like in france if so much money is made available to help companies they should do everything they can to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. But this would also be a great opportunity for the companies because their Current Business models have no future. Of course reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions is key to mitigating Climate Change but finance what is focusing on other issues. As study it commission came to the conclusion that look times are probably diverse profits via as many as 92. 00 subsidiaries to low Tax Jurisdictions such as island switzerland panama the Cayman Islands and malta. And found a subsidiary that with a staff of 2 and profits of about 200000000. 00 euros a year. Industry if the state takes a stake in the company it must ensure that the interests of the taxpayer of the citizens are taken into account and for large firms that receive money need to be transparent about their Corporate Structure about where they pay their taxes and how much thats the only way we can be sure they dont shift profits in order to avoid paying tax here in. Your. Love terms a c. E. O. Says the state is paying a low price for its new shares in the risk of a loss is low quote theoretically the state could exit at a high profit immediately after entry this increases the likelihood that the taxpayer will receive the high return. They allow this must also be used to promote sustainability and climate Protection Companies that fail to grasp that are going to have Serious Problems and will eventually go under. Bush would. Love to answer has been expelled from the docs been a chip index its no longer worth an elf i have the impression its bailout is a missed opportunity. Firms only change if its to their benefit. If the state saves companies from bankruptcy it only seems right that they then be obliged to contribute to the common good. I was one of the lucky ones who could work from home these past months this is actually my 1st time in the studios since the beginning of the pandemic but i felt powerless the world was and is in crisis and i was stuck at home feeling unable to do anything to help or at least thats what i thought but i ventured out mislead actually and found many ways to help others one of which is actually contributing to find a cure for this vicious virus. Well being of those during this Current Crisis doesnt just benefit those in need but yourself as well and theres so many ways of doing that some more unusual than others. This olympic medalist completed an entire triathlon in his house in spain to fund efforts to fight the coronavirus. Lets the rio of course were not all viral heroes but we dont have to be many of us are spending a lot less money than we usually do money thats missing in other places. You used to commute spend Money Laundering out to a restaurant. I know good try but if you can you might turn into money you have left over to charity there are so many struggling right now or give the money to those places youd be going by donating by doubters. To the governments astutely. Movements who are doing is just trying to achieve. Community. By provided food and so you should material so we went out. So. What. I decided to reach out to my facebook friends and i asked them if they would help me raise some money to help feed 100 people and now ive done 2000 people who outreach can be as easy as just putting up a sign in a neighborhood offering help to those in need as long as you yourself are healthy this is even a dedicated function for that on facebook where you can offer and find help in your local area. For example my computer is working really hard right now to me here. Its trying to help find a treatment for cope with 19 well this guy explain it for you. Falling in full and create. These 3. Very important other signs to better understand how the proteins so dissimulation that we do they require a massive pair of Computing Power that is why its old and its old its composed of new computers and laptops from people all over the world. According to polling thats how it is now the biggest supercomputer on. These mappings opens up new possibilities for treatments again and the researchers are hoping they can see the scenes on the ground of ours and there are many other projects you can participate if youre interested look for Citizen Science projects. Has been an outpouring of support for essential workers world wide. And clapping his whole his. Appreciation but i think its just coming from the right. Wrong place right now those Health Care Workers started government petition one former adequate pay of Health Care Workers and 1. 00 for their overall better protection and. I want them to consider what we have to do want to daily basis on how we are good thing our lives every single day we hear word people to sign both the online petition and then to reach out to them but there are representatives and senators to support the bill there is similar petitions worldwide you can sign clapping and rice but actually getting active to support the essential workers thats more effective. I know its boring and i know you everyone sick of being home. Just stay at home really if we get slow or stop the spread of this virus by just take it easy precautions and staying away from people thats the best thing so im going to stay put and help as much as i can from the safety of my own home i for developed as for my Favorite Places and my computer diligently computing for science. Thanks so much for watching and if you feel like it please take out the other episodes of hash tag in this together. You can find them on the d w News Facebook page lets keep hanging in there wait interest to get and we need each other to make it to the other side thats it for today on made in germany thank you for watching. The for. Childrens garments a serious health. The environmental damage begins right at the source. By the creatures maybe. It is a good lead to be. Government has done next to nothing about this problem told local residents decided to take action a little presupposing. Spondee w. O. Were all set. To go beyond obvious. That were on live. As we take on the world. Were all about the stories that matter to you. Really what ever it takes. Not running out of touch. W. Made 4 minds. Im going crazy thing in all the time. How to handle it on new lines in times of the corona and then the w. Reporter is it just like everyone else and shes looking for answers and thankfully with the help of jamie. Thank you this is not life as we know it. In this together our new web series. This is the news live from berlin china trade blame over a dangerous border dispute as they are for the deadly confrontation between troops of the 2 countries in the himalayan mountains china demands haase punishment for indian soldiers involved indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warns his country will respond if provoked also on the Program German Biotech Company gets the go ahead to stop trials of the promising Coronavirus Vaccine volunteers from