Thanks to the publicly owned enterprise “Friedrich Engels” – and its
approximately 6,500-7,200 jobs – Premnitz was once a center for the
GDR's synthetic fiber industry. In 1990, the firm was reorganized into
the “Märkische Faser” joint-stock company. Because the
Treuhand [Trusteeship Agency] only
partly granted a requested credit for the fourth quarter of 1990,
bankruptcy was imminent. After employees protested (see below), the
Treuhand was persuaded to sustain the
firm. [Note: the protesters' signs read: "Apprentices into the
gutter? What will become of our apprentice positions?" (left) and
"No mass unemployment in Premnitz."] In 1991/92, the
"Märkische Faser" joint-stock company was sold to a Swiss
firm. The change in investors, the splitting-up of the firm, and several
insolvencies caused a drastic reduction in the number of jobs in
synthetic fiber production in Premnitz – to 1,200 (in 1995) and 250 (in
2006). Converting the firm's premises into an industrial park saved – or
created – at least 1,000 industrial jobs. For a time, however, the
officially registered percentage of unemployed in Premnitz hovered
between 20 and 25 percent.
Demonstration against Job Cuts in Premnitz (December 10, 1990)