UPDATE 1-Germany extends employment guarantee at Schwedt PCK refinery

Berlin has been in talks with Poland about possibly raising deliveries, saying capacity for Schwedt was secured at 80% for the month of May, down from 85% ⁠previously. "In ​order to further ⁠stabilise the site and provide employees with reliable prospects, the existing job protection arrangements at the ⁠PCK refinery will be extended by six months until the end of 2026," Reiche said.

The German ​government has extended employment guarantees for ​staff of the PCK ‌refinery in the ​eastern town of Schwedt by a further six months until the end of 2026, Economy Minister ‌Katherina Reiche told Reuters on Monday.

Germany is scrambling to find alternative oil supplies for PCK, which supplies most of the city of Berlin's fuel, after Russia stopped deliveries ‌via the Druzhba pipeline this month, stripping the refinery of around 17% ‌of its annual supplies. Berlin has been in talks with Poland about possibly raising deliveries, saying capacity for Schwedt was secured at 80% for the month of May, down from 85% ⁠previously.

"In ​order to further ⁠stabilise the site and provide employees with reliable prospects, the existing job protection arrangements at the ⁠PCK refinery will be extended by six months until the end of 2026," Reiche said. She ​added it was an important signal to the more than 1,000 employees ⁠at the site, given the uncertain situation. Schwedt has been an ongoing irritation for the ⁠German government ​because it is majority-owned by Russia's Rosneft even though the refinery has been brought under de facto control by the German government via a ⁠trusteeship model.

Rosneft, which owns more than half of PCK Schwedt, recently filed a ⁠fresh lawsuit against ⁠the set-up. Reiche said the government and regional stakeholders would work together to strengthen Schwedt as a business site.