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The arms manufacturer Sig Sauer closes its operations in Eckernfrde. Almost 130 employees are affected. This has been confirmed by Managing Director Tim Castagne NDR Schleswig-Holstein. Castagne informed the staff and the works council of the situation on Thursday. According to information from NDR-Schleswig-Holstein, Sig Sauer's shareholders are no longer willing to invest more money in the financially troubled company.
CEO criticizes arms market rules
In an interview with NDR Schleswig-Holstein, Castagne gave several reasons for the withdrawal. He says that the arms market in Germany has been increasingly regulated, so sales have dropped significantly. In addition, it is no longer financially worthwhile to produce sports and service weapons for the police in Eckernfrde. In addition, according to Castagne, there are no large orders from the Bundeswehr, for example. Castagne complains that his company is discriminated against: "SIG Sauer is systematically excluded from the tender because of its international orientation". International orientation in this case means that most weapons are developed in the United States. The company was also burdened by the effects of the corona crisis .
All employees are fired
According to Castagne, the employees should be fired. The company is currently examining which orders can still be processed. Negotiations with the works council on a social plan for employees are also being started. When exactly the location should be closed is still open. The only thing that is clear, according to Castagne, is that this should happen this year. The traditional company has been manufacturing weapons in Eckernfrde since 1951. Since 2000 it has been part of L&O Holding, which also includes the US sister Sig Sauer Inc. in Newington in New Hampshire.
In the industry, it is now expected that parts of the arms production from Eckernfrde will be taken over by another manufacturer of L&O Holding. Other areas of arms production would then be supplied from the United States (Sig Sauer USA).
Ministry of Economy: "Bitter message"
Schleswig-Holstein's state government was "caught cold" by the announced closure of the Eckernfrde site, said Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Thilo Rohlfs. "This is very bitter news for the region, but also for Schleswig-Holstein as a business location as a whole." The official firing point for weapons and firecrackers in Eckernfrde only resumed operations in February after a modernization . The country invested 400,000 euros for this, also to send a clear signal in the direction of Sig Sauer, said Rohlfs. It is still unclear whether the continued existence of the facility makes sense.
Illegal arms deliveries to Colombia
In recent years, Sig Sauer has been in the headlines for illegal arms deliveries to Colombia. Three former managers were therefore sentenced to suspended sentences in 2019 . You were in the process of being responsible for delivering nearly 50,000 SP 2022 pistols from Germany to a sister company in the United States between 2009 and 2011. More than 38,000 of these weapons were resold to Colombia - a violation of the German foreign trade and war weapons control law.
New investigation by the prosecutor
According to the Kiel public prosecutor's office, investigations have been initiated again because Sig Sauer weapons allegedly produced in Eckernfrde have appeared in countries to which they should not have been delivered from Germany - specifically to Mexico . It is currently being investigated against unknowns.