‘Booking has been turned down’ | Financial

The claim to wage subsidies came to Booking.com a lot of criticism. According to the business magazine Quote, the hotel and booking site negotiated favorable tax schemes with which it enjoyed hundreds of millions of euros in tax benefits for years, but did ask for support from the government after the outbreak of the corona virus.

Glass House

“I’ll say one thing. They have been kicked and they will never do that again, ”said De Boer about Booking’s promotion. “They should have had the wisdom themselves to say, We are in a glass house and get in the news so very annoying, so we shouldn’t do this.”

“They have been entitled to it and have taken that right to themselves. But sometimes you are entitled to something, but you have to remember: do I want that? ”, He continued.

Not optimistic

De Boer, who will retire after six years as a leader of the interest group for large companies, is not optimistic about the impact of the corona crisis on the labor market. Compared to previous plans, significantly fewer businesses will apply for corona support.

“Companies say yes, I want to keep my best people with me. But sometimes there is really no way to stop the leak, and those companies will be taking consequences more than in recent months. That’s bad news, ”says De Boer. “We are not optimistic about the future. You can see unemployment rising very gradually and bankruptcies will increase. ”

Incentive

At the same time, according to De Boer, the fact that entrepreneurs who receive support themselves have to pay more is an incentive to take necessary, but possibly hard decisions. According to him, this should prevent so-called zombie companies from emerging, which would not be viable without support. “I am also an optimist. I see that some companies are making wonderful adjustments and getting back wind under their wings. ”

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