Hapag-Lloyd must cut costs

The German government is dictating to Hapag-Lloyd that they must drastically cut costs. $1.5 billion. It's a pity they haven't figured that out by now. Just as Obama had to fire some folks at GM, perhaps Merkel will need to do the same at Hapag-Lloyd.

No wonder Kuehne has been so unhappy with the management at Hapag-Lloyd.

From The Journal of Commerce

The shipping line, Germany’s biggest container fleet, filed for aid on Aug. 14. Hapag was advised by the federal government to modify the criteria for gaining aid to include providing more funds from its owners and starting a cost-cutting program to save as much as $1.5 billion.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition has tied help for banks tapping the country’s $699 billion bank rescue fund to restrictions on top executives’ pay and temporary restrictions on dividends, Bloomberg reported.

Annual pay for board members that exceeds $727,000 is “not appropriate”, according to an ordinance that followed the legislation.

And, what about all those ships on order? Huh?

These folks are going to end up bankrupt, just like GM.

UPDATE
From Bloomberg News

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- German lawmakers suggested to the government to tie aid for shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG to demands on the owners including TUI AG.

The government should explore if state guarantees for Hapag-Lloyd can be tied to demands such as a cap on executive pay and a dividend ban, according to a draft motion from today. The proposal will probably be decided today and brought in by the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats, the two largest parties in the Bundestag.