display

Chemnitz (dpa / sn) - The President of the Chamber of Commerce Chemnitz Dieter Pfortner has called for the rapid disbursement of financial aid for companies that are closed due to corona.

This is currently going very slowly, he complained on Tuesday at a press conference in Chemnitz.

That jeopardizes trust in politics.

In principle, he supports the current measures to contain the pandemic.

This is necessary to limit contacts.

Nevertheless, Pfortner admitted: "The closure of the retail trade right now in the run-up to Christmas is a disaster."

Because in the Christmas business the industry achieves a significant part of the annual business.

The hospitality and travel industries are also badly shaken by the Corona crisis, as a seasonal survey by the chamber of companies in their region shows.

Even before hotels and restaurants were closed at the beginning of November, more than half of the survey participants from this industry expected a worse development in the winter half year compared to the previous year.

The difficult situation is also likely to have an impact on employment.

"Two out of ten accommodation providers suspect a reduction in employees, among restaurateurs it is even three out of ten," it said.

The situation in the travel industry, which includes tour operators, travel agencies and bus travel companies, is even more dramatic.

There, 94 percent reported a bad business situation.

Around half of those surveyed expect a decline in employment.

display

Whether there will be a wave of bankruptcies in these particularly badly affected industries depends on further government aid, said Christoph Neuberg, Managing Director of the IHK's location policy.

Overall, Chamber President Pfortner warned not to put burdens on companies in view of the current situation.

These are feared, for example, due to the CO2 surcharge on fossil fuels, which will apply from 2021, but also due to the reform of the property tax, which is to come into force at the beginning of 2025.

The state government wants to deviate from the federal model in order to prevent a noticeable increase in the cost of living in the Free State.

The downside of the coin is that in return, the economy will be burdened significantly more than the current state, criticized the chamber.

Seasonal survey tourism