On the planned job cuts at E.On Energy Group, Sahra Wagenknecht, member of the party executive of the Left and Member of the European Parliament, explains:

The profit greed of the biggest Germany energy company seems to know no limits. Not only that E.On abuses its market power in order to push through outrageous price increases of electricity and gas. Now, in addition, 1800 positions are slated to be cut and 40 of the 60 service locations are supposed to be closed. This impudent plan is justified as usual with the necessity to improve one's own competitiveness. It is obscured that there can be no question of "competition" in view of the monopoly-type structures on the energy market and that companies such as E.On or RWE are drawing huge extra-profits from their share in the energy companies.

For the year 2007, E.On announced a profit increase by 27 percent to 7.7 billion Euros. Who pockets such gains actually would have the duty to create additional jobs – for instance in the area of regenerative energies. Instead positions are cut, working hours extended and wages reduced. There finally needs to be an end to this nonsense: In the interest of the employees, the consumers and the environment, energy companies must be transferred to public ownership and controlled democratically.