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There is still a standstill in Germany's trade fair industry.

In some places no industry show has taken place for almost a year.

And it should take a few more months before exhibitors and visitors can meet again.

Messe Frankfurt, for example, has meanwhile canceled all events planned for April and May with reference to currently changed regulations and travel restrictions.

“With a view to the current situation, we cannot meet the expectations of our customers with regard to internationally oriented trade fairs in April and May,” explains Managing Director Detlef Braun.

The situation in Hanover is no different.

In any case, the world's largest industrial show, the Hanover Fair, which was scheduled for mid-April, is now once again taking place as a purely digital event.

“In close consultation with our most important exhibitor committee, we decided that organizing a presence trade fair under the given framework conditions cannot be realized and is also not responsible,” says Jochen Köckler, CEO of the organizer Deutsche Messe AG.

First waves of layoffs

Similar decisions could soon be made elsewhere - which would increase the already great economic pressure on the ailing industry even further.

But even now the idle business, combined with the persistently uncertain future prospects, is pushing many exhibition companies to their limits.

This is why savings programs are being launched everywhere, some with serious consequences for employees.

Several companies are now announcing that they want to reduce their workforce.

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The world's second largest trade fair organizer, Reed Exhibitions, has already acted.

In the course of restructuring, at least 500 jobs were cut worldwide before the turn of the year, reports the "Financial Times".

According to WELT information, this also affects the national company in Germany, which organizes nine trade fairs in this country, including the Fibo fitness fair in Cologne, Aluminum in Düsseldorf, the Bar Convent in Berlin and the equestrian fair Equitana in Essen.

According to reports, there was a first wave of layoffs in September, followed by a second in November.

In total, almost one in three of the approximately 150 employees at the Düsseldorf location had to leave, including the entire management with Hans-Joachim Erbel and André Weijde at the top.

Take the necessary steps

A spokeswoman confirmed changes at Reed Exhibitions in Germany on request, but she does not want to give details.

“In 2020, the trade fair industry was one of the sectors hardest hit by the Covid crisis.

In line with our corporate responsibility, we have taken the necessary steps to get through this crisis, ”said a statement.

“The associated measures were completed in 2020.

Our focus is on the year 2021 and the optimal implementation of our events under still demanding framework conditions. "

In the future, Reed Exhibitions Germany will be controlled from Austria.

The regional chief there, Benedikt Binder-Krieglstein, has also been responsible for activities in this country since the turn of the year.

At the same time, central areas such as finances and human resources are largely managed from Vienna, according to the company.

Only the teams that are responsible for organizing the trade fairs in Germany remain in Düsseldorf.

The spokeswoman does not want to go into this either.

"The new region with locations in Austria and Germany creates an increase in added value for our customers," she simply says.

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In Austria, Reed Exhibitions is active in Vienna and Salzburg.

There have also been layoffs there in the past few months, as reported by Austrian media, including the “Salzburger Nachrichten”.

We are talking about 90 positions, of which 53 in the exhibition area and 37 at a subsidiary specializing in stand construction and technology.

Stay fit for the future

But not only the private organizers are changing structures and cutting staff.

The public trade fair companies - the majority of the large providers in this country are owned by cities and federal states - are also reacting to the crisis.

Messe München, for example, has presented a radical restructuring program.

"The second wave of the pandemic leaves us no choice, we have to cut jobs," says managing director Klaus Dittrich.

Because significantly less business can be expected in the foreseeable future.

Around 170 of the total of 1200 jobs will be cut by the end of 2022.

Savings are being made at all levels, i.e. by the company, including management.

The aim is to avoid redundancies at least for operational reasons, says Dittrich.

"We now have to achieve two things: Firstly, secure the company's liquidity in the long term and, secondly, make Messe München fit for the future in the medium term." To do this, it is essential to reduce capacities.

"Because we have to expect significantly less business in the foreseeable future."

There will be even more job cuts at Deutsche Messe in Hanover.

A rescue plan for the coronavirus-affected company plans to reduce the number of employees from 738 to 525 by 2027.

In addition, a four-day week without wage compensation is to be introduced temporarily.

In return, the shareholders, the city of Hanover and the state of Lower Saxony, are supporting the exhibition company with a capital injection of 20 million euros and a guarantee of up to 130 million euros.

Because the balance sheet is devastating: The turnover of Lower Saxony fell from 346 million euros in 2019 to only 95 million euros in the pandemic year 2020.

And a considerable proportion of this is still attributable to an emergency clinic with almost 500 beds set up on the exhibition grounds.

In addition, the trade fair company's loss of 103 million euros is even higher than sales.

No redundancies for operational reasons

At Germany's industry leader Messe Frankfurt, on the other hand, there should be around 150 fewer jobs by the end of 2021.

The cutback is happening through fluctuation and offers to older employees, reports the company, which recently had 2500 employees, around 1000 of them at the headquarters in Frankfurt.

There should be no redundancies for operational reasons, as compensation an agreement was concluded according to which remaining colleagues waive their salary.

In the case of Hessen, sales in the pandemic year fell to almost 250 million euros, around two thirds less than in the previous year.

The bottom line is instead of the originally expected profit of 47 million euros, a loss in the three-digit million range.