“A lot of things can go wrong”
BDI boss Russwurm sees enormous risks
4/21/2022, 5:59 p.m
War, pandemic, inflation – the serious crises are increasing at the moment. BDI President Russwurm views the development with concern and sees many challenges ahead for the industry. The “economy” Schnitzer also expressed concern.
In addition to the current challenges caused by the Ukraine war, Siegfried Russwurm, head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), sees German companies facing enormous challenges and risks. There are a whole series of critical situations, he said in an interview with ntv on the sidelines of the Ludwig Erhard summit on Tegernsee. The industry not only has to reduce greenhouse gases in order to achieve the climate goals, but also faces the challenge of digitizing itself.
“There are many things that can go wrong and that we will then see in our basic data in large numbers,” explained BDI President Siegfried Russwurm. He is also observing the developments in China with concern, which is again taking measures because of the corona virus: “We have to be honest, the pandemic alone now in China will hit us massively because the logistics flows are reaching their limits again and sometimes already torn down.”
In addition, similar developments cannot currently be ruled out in Germany. “The pandemic is not over yet,” explains Russwurm. There is great concern that the situation will ease over the summer and that Germany will be overtaken again by a new, aggressive variant in the winter.
Concern about inflation
The “economist” Monika Schnitzer also expressed concern at the Ludwig-Erhard summit in Gmund am Tegernsee. Inflation has already taken hold. Rising energy prices, more expensive imports and the necessary reduction in dependence on individual markets led to higher costs across the board, the professor said. Stressed companies could face high wage demands.
“If everyone assumes that inflation is getting worse, the economy is massively unsettled,” said the government advisor and economist, who is a member of the German Council of Economic Experts. She expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to turn away from the policy of cheap money: “That’s where the ECB comes in.”