Every fourth family business sees high energy costs as a danger

The high energy prices are becoming more and more serious for family businesses in Germany. In a recent survey, seven percent of companies from various sectors call the situation "threatening their existence," and a further 17 percent see their competitiveness at risk.

This has far-reaching consequences – for employees and for Germany as a business location. Two percent of the more than 700 companies surveyed said they planned to permanently stop production, sell or close their company by the end of the year. In the medium term, this is even the plan in every tenth company.

Three percent plan to relocate production abroad by the end of the year, eleven percent in the medium term. A temporary cessation of production or its reduction is on the agenda for 22 percent of the companies by the end of the year.

The association “The Family Entrepreneurs” surveyed hundreds of members for the assessment in the middle of the week. "We are threatened with massive cascading effects from production cutbacks, production relocations abroad to company closures, which not only destroy jobs but also purchasing power," warned association president Reinhold von Eben-Worlée.

More than half of the companies are apparently unsure whether and how they will still be supplied with energy in the future. 13 percent said they would not get new contracts for the supply of electricity and gas from their suppliers. 39 percent (electricity) and 45 percent (gas) do get contracts, but consider the conditions to be "unsustainable" in the short or medium term.