BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Meyer Werft on Thursday, the luxury shipbuilder said, raising hopes that it could secure support from the government as it seeks to fill a 2.7 billion euro ($3.00 billion) hole in its finances.
The state premier and economy minister of Lower Saxony, home of the shipyard in Papenburg where the over 200-year-old company is based, will also attend for a works council meeting, Meyer Werft said in a statement on Wednesday.
Meyer Werft, one of the world’s biggest cruise ship builders, needs 2.3 billion euros in working capital and 400 million euros needed in equity to cover past losses and restructuring costs, according to its restructuring chief.
The German economy ministry said on July 3 that the government was looking into possible state support for Meyer Werft, which also plans hundreds of job cuts as part of its survival plan.
Handelsblatt was first to report Scholz’s travel plans on Wednesday.
($1 = 0.8987 euros)
(Writing by Rachel More)
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