Business | Making short work of it

German firms are conflicted about the Kurzarbeit furlough scheme

Businesses seem to avoid it if they can

Jun 26th 2021|BERLIN

FOR THE first time in its august history of more than 100 years, the Adlon, a glitzy hotel within sight of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, used Kurzarbeit, a scheme in which the German government pays the bulk of wages of people who temporarily stop working or work reduced hours. “Our business was almost completely gone,” explains Daniela Welter, the hotel’s head of personnel, referring to the hard lockdown imposed last November that banned hotel stays for leisure travellers. Thanks to Kurzarbeit, the Adlon was able to save the jobs of all its 347 staff. Today it is hiring again.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Making short work of it”