Corona survey: Many Berlin companies are already writing off in 2021 – Berlin

Today 4:36 pm

Kevin P. Hoffmann

40 percent see the situation as worse than in 2020, only seven percent better: The economy expects another “crisis year” – and is demanding faster aid payments.

According to a survey, many entrepreneurs in Berlin and Brandenburg no longer expect an economic recovery for the current year. “There are many indications that we will experience another year of crisis after 2020,” said the managing director of the Berlin-Brandenburg business associations (UVB), Christian Amsinck, on Tuesday. “Politicians must therefore improve their crisis management decisively in order to avert further downward trends,” he demanded.

He related the statement, among other things, to the disbursements of the aid funds. Of the 525 million euros made available by politicians in Berlin, only 200 million have so far flowed out. That is too slow. The obligation to apply for help through tax advisors, which applies to some programs, is also too time-consuming.

For the survey, the UVB asked its 60 member associations in Berlin and Brandenburg, which represent around one million employees across all industries, from mid-February. 37 associations sent in their answers, including as varied as the hairdressing guild from the service sector or the wood and plastic association from industry.

According to the survey, 40 percent of companies rate their current situation as worse than last year. 53 rate their situation as “stagnating”, seven percent “better”. Looking ahead, 30 percent of companies still assume that their own economic situation will worsen in the current year. More than half (52 percent) expect stagnation, 18 percent expect an improvement.

Crafts are often working at the pre-Corona level again

A return to the pre-crisis level is currently not foreseeable, especially in the metal and electrical industry, the catering industry, but also with start-ups and the energy industry. Large parts of the trades, on the other hand, that were less affected by the restrictions, are already working at the level before the corona outbreak.

Overall, the association sees companies from the mechanical engineering, hotels and restaurants, health, trade, printing and media as well as hairdressing salons most affected by the pandemic. On the other hand, companies from the gardening and landscaping, carpentry, tax consultancy and building technology sectors could often record growth.

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The UVB see regional differences in the training market: in 2020, many Berlin companies were committed to dual training as before, because the contracts had already been signed. In the current year, however, some companies are likely to train less. In Brandenburg, on the other hand, there were around 2000 apprenticeships in the first corona year that could not be filled.

In summary, Amsinck spoke of the “biggest slump in the economy for decades”. The situation is grim for many companies. “The light at the end of the tunnel must be switched on at the next federal-state meeting at the latest”. In politics, some would have to “touch their own nose and not always point a finger at citizens who do not adhere to some incidence figures.” (with dpa)