After Lufthansa major shareholder Heinz-Hermann Thiele initially spoke out against state aid for the crane and attracted a lot of public attention with his approach, it became quiet around him. Now he speaks up again and fears that the negotiations between the trade unions and corporate management could fail.
“If the positions of the collective bargaining partners do not come closer together in the short term, the planned restructuring cannot be done with the funds available,” the investor told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Lufthansa would then be forced to carry out a large-scale downsizing and to terminate all existing and, in Thiele's opinion, “no longer up-to-date” collective agreements.
In an interview with the FAZ, Heinz-Hermann Thiele also called for the state to step in as a mediator between the Lufthansa management and the unions. A workable compromise for the company, but also for the employees, could possibly be found. It is still unclear whether the Federal Republic of Germany, which has a stake in the Lufthansa Group due to state aid, is available or not.
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