'Short-Time' Story

There are various minor signs of a recession starting up in Germany, but today....there's a four-star story which might worry some folks. 

Here in Germany, we have something called 'short-time' employment.  It's first use was around four years prior to WW I, and involved the 'potash' law.  Basically, there are x-number of normal hours and they don't need you....but the company (via a government 'funnel') will compensate you for the hours you don't work. 

There are three levels to short-time.  First, there's the seasonal guy (maybe a ice-cream shop or some farm-operation), and you chiefly help the guy because of weather conditions.  Second, there's a economic spiral or recession in play, with you the boss cutting hours (maybe from 38 hours down to 24 hours).  Finally, there's the permanent loss of a job, and a period where the state authorities sign off to cover the period of the shut-down. 

There are several rules to this deal, but the chief rule is that this is a temporary period, and people expect things to correct themselves.

So the company to cross the line and suggest this to start shortly?  Opel.  It'll be 2,600 workers who go to a lesser hour schedule, and the hopes are that by spring of 2021....things correct themselves. 

A negative deal?  Usually, things correct themselves, and people return to a full-time schedule.  The worst part of this is that your husband or wife is now at home, bored, and needs to occupy the time.  Some German guys sit around and dream of this period, with forty house-improvement projects on their list (paint the garage, reseed the lawn, new wallpaper for the bedroom, rebuild an old motorcycle they picked up at a garage sale, etc). 

Money coming out of the government's pot of money?  Yes.  Its supposed to prevent mass lay-offs, and keep the economy stable.  Course, you could end up in spring of 2021, with the recession worse off.....and the company decides to truly downsize then. 

The odds of additional big companies having short-time?  I would imagine within the next month.....at least a dozen more companies will make the announcement.