The Ford car company currently sees no future in Saarland.
The decision to build the first self-developed electric car in Spain and not in Saarlouis understandably arouses anger and fear not only among those directly affected.
For the region in the southwest of the republic, one of the most important employers and with it a key industry is on the brink.
If Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is now making Ford, as an employer, responsible for developing serious prospects for Saarlouis and not simply winding up the location, he is right.
On the other hand, the allegations from the state government that it is a case of a set-up sound cheap.
Of course, corporations have always known how to get financial gain from new settlements.
Municipalities and politicians are only too happy to play along in this subsidy poker game with a view to the jackpot from jobs and gains in purchasing power.
It is just three months since Magdeburg was awarded the contract for the largest investment in German post-war history by the US chip manufacturer Intel.
Alleged federal subsidy: almost 7 billion euros.
Numerous European competitors were left behind.