Missing computer chips Short-time work at VW and Daimler

Status: 16.06.2021 10:23 a.m.

Time and again, the production lines in car plants stand still – the manufacturers refer to the industry-wide shortage of chips. Now it hits Volkswagen and Daimler again. When will the situation improve? From Angela Göpfert, tagesschau.de There will be stoppages in the coming week at the VW main plant. In the Tiguan, Touran and Tarraco production as well as in the Golf production in the late and night shifts, the Wolfsburg switch to short-time work. In the Daimler plants in Bremen and Rastatt, short-time work is already the order of the day. The reason is once again the industry-wide shortage of chips.

06/08/2021

Interruptions cost billions

It is nowhere near the first time that the shortage of semiconductors has slowed automakers’ production. It was not until the end of May that the VW luxury subsidiary Audi at the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm locations suffered production interruptions. BMW had been hit a few weeks earlier. The Ford plant in Cologne is also affected. The German auto industry is not alone with its problems: The US auto giant Ford calculates charges of around 2.5 billion dollars this year due to the lack of chips. The problems in the automotive industry have consequences for the entire economy. Just today, the researchers at the Munich Ifo Institute lowered their forecast for the growth of the German gross domestic product this year from 3.7 to 3.3 percent. To justify this, they also referred to bottlenecks in the delivery of intermediate products such as semiconductors.

Improvement in the third quarter?

It could take a few more weeks for a change for the better. According to experts, the automotive industry is heading for the lowest point. “We are facing the toughest six weeks,” said Murat Aksel, VW Board Member for Purchasing, recently in an interview with the “Handelsblatt”. The situation should improve again in the third quarter. Competitor Daimler also expects an improvement in the second half of the year. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) also estimates that the situation should ease from July.

Around four million cars less

Because of the lack of chips, automakers worldwide produced 1.4 million fewer cars in the first quarter and 1.6 million in the second quarter, the BCG experts calculate. For the entire year 2021, the failures are likely to amount to four to six million vehicles.

05/04/2021

The consulting firm Alix Partners in Munich estimates 3.9 million cars. This corresponds to a value of non-produced cars of around 91 billion euros.

Lessons from the shortage of chips

The car manufacturers have long since learned their lessons from the shortage of chips: They are carefully reviewing their supply chains and are not only expanding their warehousing for chips. After all, the supply chains have thinned out after a pandemic for more than a year, even for important intermediate products, for example in the chemical industry.

06/07/2021

Security of supply is suddenly a priority again after years of just-in-time delivery. Chip manufacturers are also taking strong countermeasures and are pushing ahead with expanding their capacities at full speed. In Germany, the new high-tech chip factory from Bosch ensure regional supplies.

Misjudgments as the cause

But how did it come to that? Where does this lack of chips come from, which is currently keeping the auto industry and its employees in suspense? With the outbreak of the corona pandemic, demand for cars collapsed and chip manufacturers cut their production plans.

05/31/2021

When the demand for new vehicles suddenly increased surprisingly in the summer of 2020, chip manufacturers such as Infineon or NXP were overwhelmed by the demand. The current chip shortage is therefore based on a whole series of misjudgments – on the part of car manufacturers and suppliers, but also on the part of chip manufacturers. The lack of chips also shows that the auto industry did not come through the Corona crisis as badly as feared.

Receivables from the tax office Many short-time workers have to pay taxes

Status: 14.06.2021 2:49 p.m.

The short-time work allowance saved many jobs. But many recipients are now realizing that the tax office is demanding an additional tax payment: an additional burden for an already lower income. From Iris Sayram, rbb It is now the third amendment to the short-time work regulation that is going through parliament this week. “With short-time working we secure millions of jobs through the crisis and get the German economy important skilled workers for a quick start now in the summer”, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) repeated only recently. This statement is not disputed; but after more than a year of short-time work, there are also side effects.

Short-time work requires a tax return

These are particularly noticeable now, as those receiving the benefits have to submit their tax returns for the 2020 pandemic year. Everyone who has “applied for more than 410 euros in the calendar year” has to make the declaration, according to the website of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). The calculation that as an employee subject to wage tax you usually get something back does not always apply here. Some even have to pay back large sums of money to the tax office. “This mainly affects the recipients who were not sent 100 percent on short-time work, but only partially,” says the managing director of the Federal Association of Wage Tax Aid Associations, Uwe Rauhöft tagesschau.de . The Berlin Left MP Sebastian Schluesselburg knows exactly such a case from his public consultation: A woman from the hotel industry was put on short-time work at the beginning of the pandemic. “Your cash flow is already greatly reduced by the high rent and having a small child,” said Schluesselburg. But she has now been completely “blown away” by the additional tax payment of more than 1000 euros – payable within four weeks.

background 05/19/2021

With the decision comes the tax shock

“This is not an isolated case,” says Uwe Rauhöft from the income tax aid association. “If the regular working hours are reduced to 50 percent and short-time work allowance is granted for the other 50 percent, then the wage tax is sometimes reduced very sharply,” explains the expert. The reduced wage tax will fall disproportionately because of the progressive tax rate. “As a result, however, too little wage tax is paid over the year,” Rauhöft continues. With the income tax return this is now noticeable. Those affected often only noticed this when they received the payment notification. “If you don’t expect it beforehand and don’t know, you now have a problem.” The Federal Employment Agency cannot give precise figures on how many recipients are now confronted with back payments. It is only clear that there are not just a few isolated cases. Several million employees have received short-time allowance since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the latest projections by the BA, it was around 2.6 million in March.

05/05/2021

Experts complain that there is insufficient information

In the FAQ area of ​​the employment agency there is a note in the last sub-item that “short-time allowance as wage replacement benefit is tax-free”. It also states that the service will be taken into account when determining the tax rate. “This can lead to additional tax claims”. This should have been pointed out more clearly, says tax law expert Sandra Inioutis. The tax advisor knows the problem. “It is a highly complicated process and it is not possible to say in general who it affects.” It is all the more necessary to better educate the recipients here. “Perhaps one should have said from an official point that the basically tax-free service is provided with a” but “”, says Inioutis tagesschau.de .

05/22/2021

Little indulgence in repayment

“As if that weren’t bad enough, the tax office is proceeding with full force here,” reports the left-wing politician Schliisselburg. The young family wanted to pay the 1000 euros in two installments, but that would only be possible if all of their own funds were practically exhausted. A credit line must also be used beforehand in order to get a deferral approved. “That is unbelievable. People are being driven into over-indebtedness,” the politician said indignantly. But the law on the possibility of deferral requires that an installment payment is only to be granted in the event of “considerable hardship”. “Unfortunately that is the legal situation. But I would not recommend a deferral either, the interest rate is six percent per year. That will then be even more expensive,” advises expert Rauhöft from the income tax aid association. However, the interest rates for an overdraft facility are likely to be in a similar range or even higher.

Economic aid will be extended The Bridging aid III gets a “plus”

As of: 06/09/2021 1:56 p.m.

Many companies that have been closed for a long time due to Corona can reopen. But because the situation is still difficult in some industries, several aids will be extended until the end of September – including the short-time working rules. The simplified access rules for short-time work due to the corona pandemic will be extended by a further three months beyond the end of June. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic is “not over yet” and it is therefore important to continue protecting jobs, said Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil. The cabinet has therefore decided to extend the rules, as there are companies “that need short-time work beyond June 30”. The SPD politician referred, among other things, to the event industry. In the justification for the proposal for the cabinet, it is said that, in the view of the federal government, there are still “uncertainties” despite falling corona numbers and vaccination progress. It is about “stabilizing employment relationships and thereby avoiding unemployment and possibly bankruptcies as far as possible”. Above all, financially heavily burdened companies in the retail trade, in the entertainment, travel and tourism industries and in the hotel and restaurant industry, need easier access to short-time working beyond June 30, 2021.

Additional costs for BA of 2.6 billion euros

In addition to easier access to short-time working allowance, the full reimbursement of social security contributions for companies is to be extended. The federal government is making around 2.6 billion euros available for both instruments. Salvation announced the move in May and speaking of planning security for companies. Since the beginning of the year, the BA has already spent over 13 billion euros on short-time work. It is about “continuing to consistently secure employment” and building a “bridge to the time of economic recovery,” said Heil. Short-time working has already saved millions of jobs during the crisis and will continue to do so “where necessary”. The CSU in the Bundestag also pointed out that companies would be brought over the summer in this way. Criticism came from the Greens, who spoke of a “missed opportunity”. The extension “should have been combined with the introduction of a minimum short-time work allowance” in order to provide security and prevent going to the job center, explained the labor market expert Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn.

Bridging Aid III will also be extended

Further economic aid will also be paid longer. As the Ministry of Finance and Economics announced, Bridging Aid III for companies and self-employed people will be continued until September 30, 2021 – under the new name “Bridging Aid III Plus”. Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) said the “economic engine” was running. Nevertheless, the exit from the pandemic is gradual. That is why the extension of the aid, which was previously limited to the end of June, is an important signal. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasized that Germany had weathered the pandemic better than many others economically because the government had resolutely provided aid. “And this support is not stopped shortly before the goal, that would be economic nonsense.” The bridging aid is the government’s central crisis instrument to cushion the consequences of the pandemic on jobs and companies. With the extension, the upper limit for the subsidies will also be increased – especially larger companies from the fashion and hotel industries, for example, had complained that they had not yet received the aid. At the same time, companies that take employees out of short-time working earlier or hire new employees should receive a “restart bonus”.

Daimler has to send thousands of employees on short-time work at two locations. The reason is not the sluggish sales, but the persistent shortage of electronic components. Most of the employees at the Mercedes plants in Rastatt and Bremen are affected. Daimler announced on Wednesday that car production would be reduced in the two factories and that short-time work would initially be applied for from April 23 to the beginning of May. More than 12,000 people are employed in the Bremen plant and around 6,500 in Rastatt. According to the company, employees in “strategic projects” and so-called basic functions are excluded from short-time working at both locations. This includes Daimler in the areas of maintenance and supply as well as qualification topics. First, local media reported on the short-time work plans at the respective locations.

Break at the wrong time

The production interruption apparently hit the Bremen plant at an inopportune time. The order situation is good, the “Weser Kurier” quotes a spokesman for IG Metall. In addition, the new C-Class produced in the plant there, which was presented in February and will soon be delivered to customers, is also affected. Daimler employees in Bremen had already been forced to take a break in January. At that time, too, the cause was the lack of semiconductor components. Upon request, Daimler did not comment in detail on the question of whether short-time work was now also planned for other plants. The only thing that was said was that they were in exchange with the chip suppliers and “if necessary” were to adapt the driving styles in individual plants. The situation is volatile, you drive on sight.

VW, Ford and Peugeot also affected

The global delivery bottlenecks for electronic chips are also forcing other car manufacturers to interrupt production. At Ford, for example, the production lines are at a standstill in some plants; at Volkswagen in Emden, production is interrupted for two weeks. Thousands of employees were put on short-time work. In France, the car manufacturer Peugeot, which belongs to the Stellantis group, is taking an unusual approach: Due to the lack of chips, analog speedometers will be used again in the 308 model instead of the digital speedometers originally intended. Digital dashboards are reserved for vehicles that are more in demand, such as the 3008 SUV. The customers should therefore receive a price discount, reported the French news broadcaster LCI. The current model of the Peugeot 308 expires in autumn. The next generation of compact cars should then have a digital speedometer again – provided that enough chips are available by then. So far, the car manufacturers have not dared to make a prognosis about the business effects of the chip shortage because the situation on the chip market is too confusing. According to analysts, however, the bottleneck has so far done more than harmed the corporations: As a result, the supply of new cars has decreased, while demand is high in China and the USA. This enabled higher prices to be enforced.