On May 2nd at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – Dieter Bornemann will present the ORF business magazine “Eco” on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2 with the following contributions:
Profits at state expense: How companies made profits with Corona short-time work
The Covid pandemic cost Austria almost 48 billion euros. The motto of the government at the time: “Whatever the cost!” And it cost. Some companies even received more money than they needed. This is now shown by data from the labor market service on short-time work, which is available exclusively to ORF. Short-time work was developed by the social partners, approved by the government and paid out to companies in “economic difficulties” in order to secure jobs. But were everyone who received short-time work support really in economic difficulties? From today’s perspective, definitely not – that’s what current “Eco” research shows.
Some companies could have repaid the entire three years of funding with the profits from the first year of the crisis. But that didn’t happen, because the short-time working model did not provide for funding to be repaid even in the event of a win. The question remains: Was that really necessary? Why were billions of dollars in tax money distributed to companies without questioning whether they really needed it? And what do we learn from this for the next crisis? Report: Lisa Lind, Emanuel Liedl
Electricity from the fields: Photovoltaics in open spaces cause conflicts
Austria only has six years until 100 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources. There should be four times more photovoltaic areas than today by 2030. However, roofs will not be enough for this – half will have to be built on open spaces. And there is often resistance to this: it’s not just about the landscape, the fact that valuable fields are no longer usable also causes resentment. There are now attempts to combine electricity generation and agriculture on agricultural land. So vertical PV systems next to pumpkin or grain cultivation. But is such dual use worthwhile and will acceptance increase? Report: Bettina Fink