In the media: "Audi's Tesla-fighter" / Job cuts at RWE
Süddeutsche Zeitung
"Incapable of acting"
The market value of RWE, Germany’s largest power producer, is shrinking so fast it is reminiscent of a company on the way to bankruptcy, writes Karl-Heinz Büschemann in Süddeutsche Zeitung. Shares fell another 20 percent last week even after CEO Peter Terium announced a major restructuring. “Apparently, shareholders do not trust Terium any longer… one of the pillars of German power supply has begun to totter dangerously,” writes Büschemann. “The energy sector is heading towards a fundamental rupture, like the photo industry, consumer electronics or office machines did before… RWE has to watch out so it doesn’t disappear, like so many other traditional companies.”
Read the commentary in German here.
Read a CLEW article about RWE’s restructuring plans here.
Read a CLEW dossier about the utilities’ fight for survival here.
dpa/ Spiegel Online
"Cost reductions: RWE prepares employees for further job cuts"
RWE has to cut costs - which might also lead to cutting jobs as part of the company’s restructuring, CEO Peter Terium wrote in a letter to his employees in August, dpa reports. RWE’s supervisory board had approved pooling subsidiary enterprises and reducing the amount of board members earlier this month. RWE cut 1,000 jobs in the first half of 2015, the article says. It employs 58,700 people.
Read the report in German here.
Reuters
"EU debate on green energy targets pitches UK against Germany"
The EU will start a debate about green energy targets, with Germany and the UK pitted against each other ahead of the talks, reports Barbara Lewis for Reuters. The EU has pledged to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 and raise the share of renewable energy to at least 27 percent by 2020. Germany wants binding laws and has produced a statement demanding consequences if targets are missed. “The heads of states agreed on an EU binding target – not on an EU hoping target,” Reuters quotes the statement. But Britain aligned with the Czech Republic in a joint paper urging a “light-touch and non-legislative” approach, according to the report.
Read the article in English here.
FAZ / business green
"Audi’s Tesla-fighter"
German car company Audi is preparing the launch of an e-car which can drive 500 kilometres on a single battery charge as it does not want to leave the market for long-range electric vehicles to Tesla alone, according to FAZ. One electric engine will power the SUV’s front axle, with two at the back, according to the report. Audi also wants to debut a purely electric sports vehicle by 2018. Employees of Volkswagen subsidiary Audi refer to the upcoming e-models as “Tesla-Fighters”, according to the article.
Read the report from business Green in English here.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"Minister Gabriel digitalises the Energiewende"
Energy and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has prepared a draft law for the “digitalisation of the Energiewende”, spelling out details of the pending roll-out of smart meters, reports Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The ministry plans strict limits on costs of 100 euros per meter for households and 200 euros for businesses to protect consumers, according to the report. The introduction of the smart meters will start in 2017 with the largest power consumers.
