The high gas price and its consequences: Upper Austrian fiber manufacturer Lenzing will probably have to reduce production at its site in Heiligenkreuz in southern Burgenland. The current gas price makes it “not possible to produce profitably there at the moment,” a company spokesperson said Friday. Short-time working is already registered with the AMS.
The extent to which cuts actually need to be made and short-time working depends mainly on the further development of gas and electricity prices in the coming days, the spokesperson continues. Two of the three production lines will be shut down. The chance that this will actually happen is “very high”.
Location dependent on gas
The Heiligenkreuz site is dependent on gas and is now being converted to other energy sources in order to “save it in the long run”, the company spokesperson emphasizes. There are also talks about this with Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) and Burgenland Energie. The aim is to supply photovoltaic energy and biomass.
On this occasion, Doskozil repeated his call for an energy price ceiling on Friday. “If the federal government does not come up with an emergency solution soon, it will have dramatic consequences for our companies and the labor market,” he emphasized in a broadcast.
Criticism of the SPÖ and FPÖ of the government
Christoph Matznetter, the SPÖ’s economic spokesman in the federal government, accused the government of “omissions and inaction” in the energy crisis and saw Austria’s “business and industrial location” at risk. According to Matznetter, there is still no help for companies that are in need due to high electricity costs because the laws are not yet final. In a broadcast, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl again denounced sanctions against Russia, which would further increase energy prices. The Lenzing plant is “another prominent victim of sanctions,” he said.
“Undifferentiated equalization fuels inflation”
Economic Affairs Minister Martin Kocher spoke in the Ö1-Mittagsjournal on Thursday about the economic consequences of inflation. “Undifferentiated compensation for price increases” would give inflation a new boost, Kocher explains. So the solution is not as simple as it was during the pandemic. Of course you also have to support in this crisis, but that support has to be “precise”.
In the coming days – Kocher did not get more specific – “in all likelihood, the electricity price brake will come”, according to the Minister of Economic Affairs, as well as other measures to relieve households and companies.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
