The flight attendants' union UFO, the Cockpit and Verdi association accuse the Lufthansa management of using nine billion euros in state aid to create untargeted jobs “under dumping conditions in the Ocean project”. The employees "of the entire industry and criticize the project massively against the federal government."
A total of 14 employee representatives and works councils across all industries are calling in an open letter to stop the plans immediately. If necessary through political intervention. The unions Vereinigung Cockpit, Verdi and UFO support this demand and see the federal government as having an obligation to ensure that taxpayers' money is handled appropriately.
“In the slipstream of the crisis, the group is trying to pull off its long-cherished 'Ocean' project in order to create jobs without the influence of trade unions in a repeated attempt and to get rid of successful competition in this sector. This time, however, at the expense of the state, because without taxpayers' money the company would be bankrupt; Throwing thousands out on the one hand, and on the other hand hiring at 1.400 euros gross is unabashed and indecent, ”explains Daniel Flohr, UFO chairman.
"State aid is there to save jobs. The obvious main motive of the new company "Ocean" is to avoid wages at the expense of the state. In the middle of the biggest crisis in aviation, a lot of money is being invested in a platform that is expected to incur start-up losses for years. We are calling on politicians to take a closer look at how billions in state aid are being used," said Marcel Gröls, chairman of wage policy at the Cockpit Association.
The companies Tui and Condor also received state money during the crisis. Lufthansa's "Ocean" project is in cutthroat competition with these companies - a battle of annihilation at state expense is inevitable, according to the unions.
“This shows that the state deals can be used, which do not contain any requirements for employee protection. The unions had long been aware of the plans to reorganize their workplaces, but our demands to protect employees in Berlin had no consequences. In the end, it is the taxpayers and employees who foot the bill if politics does not intervene, ”Flohr explains.
"During the Covid-19 crisis, the Lufthansa tourism subsidiary "Sun Express Deutschland" was already liquidated and LGW, which flies for Eurowings, was sent into insolvency and unemployment, including its workforce. The group's subsidiary Germanwings is also about to be dissolved and with Eurowings, Lufthansa already operates an airline that is mainly active in the tourism segment. There is therefore no need for further flight operations. The plans for a new tourism platform "Ocean" also come at an inopportune time for other holiday airlines: Not only can the capacities currently not be used due to numerous travel restrictions. It also represents direct competition for the holiday airlines Condor and Tuifly, which were also rescued by state financial aid and are struggling with the crisis," explains the Cockpit association. "As with every market entry, the LH Group is planning high losses for the next few years on the 'Ocean' project. So it is not just tariff evasion at the expense of taxpayers. In this attempt, state money is being deliberately burned in an environment that, due to the crisis, no longer has anything to do with a normal market economy," explains Nicoley Baublies, member of the UFO management board, in conclusion.
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