The IG Metall (metal workers) trade union in southwest Germany has already warned, that without gas deliveries, companies face a production stop. Stefan Hartung, the head of the Bosch technology group from Stuttgart, is also of this opinion. In an interview with Handelsblatt, he warned against stopping gas supplies from Russia prematurely.
The consequences of the Ukraine war are also being clearly felt in the German automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz has already had to cut production in Sindelfingen, and at Porsche, production of the electric Taycan was affected. This is mainly due to the interrupted supply chain from Ukraine, which is one of the main suppliers of raw materials, such as cobalt, which are used in the production of e-car batteries. But a halt in gas supplies from Russia would potentially have even more far-reaching consequences. “We need gas for production,” Hartung told Handelsblatt. “Bosch itself covers 20 percent of its energy needs with gas. So we don’t need very large quantities, but some of our suppliers do.”
