Germany mulls extension of gov't benefits for short-time work

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was "generally positive" about extending the entitlement to short-time work benefits in the country to 24 months, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said here on Monday, reported Xinhua.

The government would discuss a possible extension of the short-time work program, said Seibert, adding that short-time work had made it possible to save "millions of jobs" in Germany during the COVID-19 crisis.

Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he also supported an extension of the duration of the short-time work benefits from the current 12 months to 24.

The COVID-19 crisis would not suddenly disappear in the next few weeks. "Companies and employees need a clear signal from the government. We will go with you all the way through the crisis, so that no one will be laid off on the way without need," said Scholz.

The extension program would approximately cost an additional 10 billion euros, Scholz estimated. The government already passed an economic stimulus package worth 130 billion euros in June in order to cushion the negative impacts of COVID-19.

The Federal Employment Agency recently announced that 6.7 million workers in Germany received short-time work compensation in May. The use of short-time work was "far above" the levels at the time of the financial crisis in 2009.