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Wilkau-Haßlau / Berlin (dpa) - The Left has warned of new burdens on the East German labor market in view of numerous company closings.

"The funding and settlement policy of the federal government has set the wrong incentives since the fall of the Wall and was not characterized by sustainability," criticized the labor market expert of the Bundestag parliamentary group, Sabine Zimmermann.

Often only the bare essentials are invested, low wages are paid and profits are skimmed off.

"If the modernization costs are then too high, the East German locations are simply shut down in many cases," criticized Zimmermann.

A current example is the closure of the Haribo plant in Wilkau-Haßlau near Zwickau at the end of the year.

Under the title “Haribo today - and who tomorrow?

Stop the decline of the East German labor market »should be discussed by the Bundestag on Thursday on the subject.

Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Martin Dulig (SPD), is also concerned about the development and feels reminded of the 1990s.

In East Germany in particular, there is a high level of identification with work and such closures lead to anger, fear and hurt among those affected.

The SPD Eastern Commissioner warned that this could be politically instrumentalized.

In his view, small and medium-sized companies in particular should be strengthened in East Germany and the economy there should take on a pioneering role in innovative topics.

He sees opportunities in the areas of hydrogen, artificial intelligence and decarbonization, he told the German press agency dpa.

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There have been protests for weeks against the plans of the confectionery manufacturer Haribo.

Around 150 employees in Saxony are affected.

The NGG union has announced further actions for this Thursday and Friday.

At the end of last week, the company and employee representatives agreed on a social plan.

According to the information, there are employment guarantees until March.

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Current hour "The Haribo Case - Stop the decline of the East German labor market" in the Bundestag