E.on CEO Leonhard Birnbaum sparked a wave of outrage with a comment on LinkedIn. He criticized an apparently genuine but anonymized application in which a long-term unemployed woman sought a job. The applicant stated that she had been looking for work for years and received only minimal benefits from the job center.

Birnbaum commented: "A good example that we apparently promote too much and demand too little in Germany." He questioned whether the social benefits were really so low, as the applicant apparently did not put more effort into her application.

Criticism from the Federal Employment Agency and Competitors

The post triggered a broad public debate. Numerous commentators accused Birnbaum of not knowing the applicant's living conditions and judging her situation prematurely and derogatorily. The Federal Employment Agency spoke of "deep-rooted prejudices against long-term benefit recipients" and emphasized that many people in this situation struggle with health or family challenges.

There were also reactions from the business sector. Competitor Octopus Energy offered to have the application forwarded in order to possibly offer the woman a perspective. Others agreed with Birnbaum and called for more initiative from applicants.

Birnbaum partially backtracks

On Tuesday, the E.on CEO attempted to put his comment into perspective. He clarified that the application had been sent verbatim to many companies and stated that he regretted if his criticism had been too harsh. At the same time, he insisted that there was not enough demand in Germany.

E.on declined another statement from the company regarding the incident upon request.