Overview
- Monika Schnitzer argues Generation Z works more and enters the labor market earlier than prior cohorts, while many older workers choose retirement at 63 or 64.
- Schnitzer rejects blaming part-time employees for weak performance, pointing to childcare gaps and tax incentives like Ehegattensplitting that discourage full-time work for second earners.
- She says growth depends on higher labor productivity and calls for stronger investment in digitalization, automation and AI rather than extending weekly working hours.
- Schnitzer warns that heavy dependence on U.S. LNG could be used as leverage by President Donald Trump and urges a strategic gas reserve and broader supplier base including Qatar, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and African producers.
- Germany’s Federal Network Agency reports gas supplies remain secure, noting storage near 47 percent is appropriate given expanded import routes and traders’ new hedging strategies.