DO&CO on track with ÖBB

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Business

A leading airline caterer will soon provide food for Federal Railways (ÖBB) customers, according to a newspaper. Die Presse reports today (Weds) that ÖBB picked DO&CO to manage on-board catering services of its long-distance trains from April. The state-funded railway company and the Viennese gastronomy enterprise were unavailable for comment. ÖBB is expected to reveal […]

AUA announcements alarm employees

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Business

Austrian Airlines (AUA) chief Jaan Albrecht has asked the airline’s business partners and lawmakers in Austria for help in combating the crisis. Albrecht said yesterday (Tues) he was determined to fly back into the black this year but also made clear that aviation security authorities, Vienna International Airport (VIA or VIE) and other institutions had […]

Car fuel sales slide

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Business

Austrians acquired less fuel last year, according to a traffic research organisation. The Austria Traffic Club (VCÖ) said yesterday (Sun) around 9.6 billion litres of petrol were sold in 2011, down from 9.7 billion litres in the previous year. An all-time record was achieved in 2005 when 10.2 billion litres were sold across the country, […]

AK calls for cooperation tax hike

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Business

Labour Chamber (AK) President Herbert Tumpel has demanded higher corporation taxes. Tumpel said yesterday (Thurs) Austrian firms had handed over just 17 per cent in taxes in 2010 despite the mandatory 25 per cent taxation rate. He explained the investigated enterprises used various loopholes to evade worse tax burdens. The AK investigated the performance of […]

Austrians brace for harsh health reform

Categories
Politics

The People’s Party (ÖVP) wants to drastically reduce Austria’s health sector spending. ÖVP whip Karlheinz Kopf said yesterday (Thurs) he was currently trying to convince the Social Democrats’ (SPÖ) debt brake negotiators that there was a savings potential of 1.8 billion Euros until 2017. SPÖ Health Minister Alois Stöger remained tight-lipped regarding details of the […]

ÖVAG plans drastic workforce level reduction

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Finance

Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) plans to dismiss one in five employees in a desperate attempt to avoid going bust. The loss-making bank, which received an emergency injection of one billion Euros from the state three years ago, said yesterday (Thurs) around 250 employees would lose their jobs in the coming months. This figure means that 20 […]

Porr issues profit alert

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Business

Austria’s third-biggest construction company has warned its shareholders of potential losses. Porr AG announced today (Thurs) it might suffer a loss of 70 to 80 million Euros before tax by the end of this year. The firm said it was challenged by write-offs in Eastern European (EE) countries like Hungary and Romania where state-owned institutions […]

Fire takes hold in university lab

Categories
General News

A chemical blaze took hold in the Technical University in Graz, Austria yesterday (Tues), causing almost 80,000 Euros worth of damage. According to the fire department, the metal initially set alight could be extinguished with water. The emergency services were automatically alerted to the fire in the “New Chemistry” building at the university on Tuesday […]

Company bosses look back on windfall

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Business

The chiefs of Austria’s biggest companies earned more in 2010 than in the previous year, according to an investors’ protection group. IVA officials said yesterday (Tues) the incomes of members of the executive boards of companies listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange (WBAG) rose by 13.6 per cent from 2009 to the following year. The […]

Pilz opposes pay freeze

Categories
Politics

A veteran Green Party member has spoken out against the government’s decision not to increase politicians’ wages next year. The coalition of Chancellor Werner Faymann’s Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger’s People’s Party (ÖVP) said on Sunday members of the parliament (MPs) would not get more in 2012. Delegates’ salaries were most […]