Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 08FRANKFURT3633, German State-Level Stimulus Aims to Offset Industrial

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08FRANKFURT3633.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08FRANKFURT3633 2008-12-09 14:20 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Frankfurt
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFT #3633/01 3441420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091420Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8922
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS FRANKFURT 003633 
 
STATE FOR EEB(NELSON),EEB/OMA(SAKAUE, WHITTINGTON), DRL/ILCSR AND 
EUR/AGS 
LABOR FOR ILAB(BRUMFIELD) 
TREASURY FOR ICN(KOHLER),IMB(MURDEN,MONROE,CARNES) AND OASIA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND GM
 
SUBJECT: German State-Level Stimulus Aims to Offset Industrial 
Slump 
 
REF: (A)BERLIN 1631 (B) BERLIN 1592 
 
ENTIRE TEXT IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET 
DISTRIBUTION 
 
1.  SUMMARY: As evidence mounts that Germany has slid into 
recession, the Baden-Wuerttemberg state government announced this 
week it will provide its own fiscal stimulus package to combat the 
coming crisis.  Automotive and industrial manufacturers in B-W will 
undoubtedly welcome the news, having already seen a sharp decline in 
global demand for their products.  Business leaders expect numerous 
insolvencies and large production cuts in the coming year, 
especially among small auto parts manufacturers.  Although the 
state's package will not be large enough to prevent the downturn, it 
may encourage other states or the federal government to provide 
their own larger fiscal stimulus packages.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
 
State-Level Fiscal Stimulus on the Way 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2.  Baden-Wuerttemberg Minister President Guenther Oettinger 
announced this week a 1 billion euro ($1.27 billion) economic 
stabilization package to modernize transportation and education 
infrastructure in B-W.  Oettinger's announcement came as a surprise 
because he had just the previous week publicly backed Chancellor 
Angela Merkel's opposition to a stimulus package larger than her 
now-approved 12 billion euro plan.  Oettinger justified his change 
of heart by saying that the state's dependence on the automotive 
sector makes the crisis more acute in B-W than elsewhere.  The CDU's 
coalition partner in the state, the Free Democratic Party, would 
prefer to see tax cuts, but most parties reacted favorably to the 
news. 
 
3.  The announcement comes as economic misery has become reality in 
Germany's southwest; leading industrial manufacturers have announced 
reduced production and profit targets.  Baden-Wuerttemberg, 
Germany's third largest state in economic size, has consistently 
outperformed other states in growth and employment statistics.  With 
an unemployment rate of only 4%, economic growth rates of 4.4% in 
2006 and 2.8% in 2007, and a GDP of 353 billion euros ($448 billion) 
in 2007, B-W consistently scored well above the national average in 
its economy.  Although optimistic prognoses still put economic 
growth at 2% for 2008, predictions for 2009 are being revised ever 
downward.  In the Stuttgart area, the automotive sector accounts for 
51% of turnover and employs 121,000 people.  As the recession 
deepens in Germany, the B-W economy, with its large automotive and 
industrial manufacturing sectors, has been hit hard by the global 
collapse in demand for industrial products. 
 
Automotive Sector Already in Hard Times 
--------------------------------------- 
 
4.  Stuttgart-based Daimler, manufacturer of Mercedes and Smart 
brands, saw a dramatic reduction in sales in October and November, 
down 25% from the previous year.  Daimler now plans to reduce 
production by 80,000-100,000 cars in 2008 and 150,000 in 2009.  In 
addition to a five-week Christmas break and several days of 
production stops in February and March, Daimler will also add a 
summer recess in 2009.  In addition to cuts in part-time positions, 
Daimler announced on December 8 that it will go to a four-day work 
week for 20,000 of its 30,000 employees at its largest assembly 
plant in Sindelfingen (near Stuttgart).  An additional 6,100 workers 
at the nearby Rastatt plant will also work only 3 to 4 days a week, 
but the firm will resist making job cuts.  B-W's other leading auto 
manufacturer, Porsche, will also extend production shutdowns over 
the holidays and cancel 100 temporary contracts. 
 
5.  Daimler chief economist Juergen Mueller predicted to Econ Off 
and Econ Spec that the German auto industry would not see a return 
to 2006 and 2007 sales levels until 2011 or 2012.  Some factors will 
have a positive effect on sales, such as the decreasing cost of oil, 
lower raw material prices, and the weakening of the euro against 
other global currencies, but a global economic downturn will have a 
devastating impact on demand.  He worried most about small-parts 
manufacturers, predicting that 20-25% will slide into bankruptcy 
this year, even more should any U.S. auto manufacturers go bankrupt. 
 Although Daimler faces increased borrowing costs, it stands ready 
to reach out to its partners by paying for orders upfront or earlier 
than usual.  Mueller predicted that the German government may in the 
end need to create a stabilization package for the auto parts 
industry. 
 
 
Other Industries See Dark Clouds Ahead 
-------------------------------------- 
 
6.  Suedwestmetall, an employer association representing more than 
800,000 employers in the metal and electric industries, sees similar 
trends in other industrial sectors.  Managing Director Peer-Michael 
Dick described the present situation as catastrophic.  The speed and 
depth of the current downturn surprised industrial manufacturers, 
and the recession would affect B-W harder due to its dependence on 
industrial output.  He expected up to 33,000 bankruptcies among 
manufacturers and upwards of 140,000 lay-offs in the state in 2009. 
 
7.  Dick criticized the federal government's 12 billion euro 
financial stimulus package as totally inadequate and said that if 
the German government refused to take action, the auto industry 
would need help from the EU.  Both he and Daimler's Mueller argued 
that a cut in the value-added tax would boost consumption in 
Germany.  Both parties agreed that this recession would be 
particularly tough, as what might have been a normal business cycle 
downturn coincided with a financial crisis. 
 
8.  COMMENT:  The 1 billion euro infrastructure package from the 
state government will clearly not be large enough or come quickly 
enough to prevent a severe economic recession in B-W.  Nevertheless, 
the change of heart in the state government shows increasing 
acceptance of fiscal stimulus despite the federal government's 
intractability and prior state-level commitments to a balanced 
budget.  As fiscal stimulus gains acceptance at the state level and 
poor economic data continues to come in, resistance at the federal 
level may also dissipate.  END COMMENT. 
 
9.  This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
POWELL