DAX companies shy away from returning to the office

Despite the expiry of the home office obligation, many DAX companies are hesitant to reopen their offices. Only 10 of the 30 companies listed in the German leading index want to reopen their workplaces to more employees as early as July, as a survey by the "Handelsblatt" shows. The Federal Cabinet adjusted the Corona Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance on Wednesday - the home office obligation stipulated there was not extended and will cease to apply on July 1. Bayer does not want to allow more employees to work in the office until August or September, according to the report. The chemical and pharmaceutical company does not expect larger openings until the fourth quarter. "In this way we can better compensate for the risk of loosening and thus increasing incidences," it was said to justify. The materials manufacturer Covestro is expecting a large-scale return "not before the third quarter of 2021". According to the survey, eleven companies still have no fixed plans, such as the energy company Eon. "The pandemic is still too volatile to be able to make long-term statements," it said. Munich Re even wanted to postpone its planned opening for a short time completely because of the spread of the particularly contagious delta variant. The reinsurer now wants to open from July, but only occupy a maximum of every second place. Allianz, Deutsche Börse and Heidelberg-Cement also want to let up to 50 percent of the workforce into the office in July. Deutsche Bank, Telekom, Deutsche Wohnen, MTU and Siemens Energy want to reopen in July, but cannot yet quantify the maximum occupancy rate. MTU is planning further opening steps in September, while Siemens Energy plans to open a large area in the fourth quarter. Continental is initially planning with 30 percent and would like to offer 50 percent of the capacities used before Corona again from October. "The further increase to 75 and 100 percent will be defined at a later point in time, depending on the pandemic development," explained the automotive supplier.