It's not often German big business openly dabbles in politics, but many companies are urging their employees to reject eurosceptics and right-wing populists in May 26th European Parliament elections.
German utility EON on Monday said it plans to cut up to 5,000 jobs as part of its takeover of the renewables unit Innogy from rival RWE, in a deal that will redraw the country's energy landscape.
Three energy giants Tuesday went to Germany's top court to challenge the decision by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to phase out nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster five years ago.
E.ON, Germany's largest power supplier, on Sunday announced the creation of a spin-off company as part of a major restructure that will allow it to focus more on renewable energy.
German power giant E.ON reported on Tuesday a fall in profits of almost 25 percent in the second quarter of the year and blamed low prices on political intervention.
Germany's biggest power supplier E.ON said Wednesday it was projecting a sharp drop in bottom-line profits this year as a result of the difficult industry environment and divestments.
EON, Germany's biggest power supplier, has taken a charge of some €3 billion ($4 billion) due to the diminished value of its assets because of the dim economic outlook in southern Europe.
The leaders of Germany and Russia will inaugurate the controversial Nord Stream pipeline pumping Russian gas to Western Europe on Tuesday, highlighting its strategic importance to both sides.
Jürgen Grossmann, who heads Germany's second largest power company, RWE, is to step down early and be replaced by Dutchman Peter Terium, the company said Monday.
A tie-up between German energy giant RWE and Russian gas company Gazprom could face serious antitrust obstacles, according to the Federal Cartel Office, which regulates business competition in Germany.
The head of German energy giant RWE, Jürgen Großmann, is mulling a partnership with Gazprom, the largest company in Russia, according to a Saturday news report.
German energy giants EON and RWE said Tuesday they would wait for London to rule on the future of its nuclear power industry before going ahead with investments in new power plants in Britain.
Leading politicians from Germany's centre-right coalition are pushing to allow the Russian gas giant Gazprom to take a stake in the country's biggest utility firm EON as a way of guaranteeing future gas supplies.
The government is planning an informal deal with energy companies, dropping the fuel element tax in return for cooperation in Germany’s switch-off from nuclear power, according to government sources.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s relationship with German energy companies has reportedly so deteriorated that she no longer wants to meet with their executives to discuss how best to phase out the use of nuclear power.
The head of Germany’s electricity network agency Matthias Kurth accused energy companies of trying to create and exploit panic with talk of electricity blackouts in the event that nuclear power stations are shut down.
Germany’s third biggest electricity supplier EnBW has warned of dramatically reduced profits for this year in the wake of the moratorium on the country’s nuclear power plants.
Energy company RWE has become the first firm to launch a legal challenge against the Merkel government’s controversial three-month suspension of older nuclear reactors.
Thirteen leading European firms including Germany's RWE, EON and Deutsche Telekom have reportedly urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Hungary for anti-competitive measures.
Germany's EON, the world's biggest private utilities group, unveiled a major strategic shift on Wednesday, turning its focus away from Europe and toward emerging markets to restore flagging profits.
The head of German energy giant EON is preparing the company for a radical restructuring course – including sell-offs or mergers for less profitable sectors, according to a Saturday news report.
The biggest German power company, EON, said on Wednesday it would book charges worth €2.6 billion ($3.6 billion) for devalued assets in France, Italy and Spain.
German energy firms continued to rake in massive profits despite the recent financial crisis, with the three biggest companies making profits of €23 billion last year, media reported Wednesday.
