German producers of transport equipment and textiles are making the most use of a short-hours facility aimed at avoiding mass lay-offs as the manufacturing sector lingers in a recession, a survey by economic institute Ifo showed recently. It said that 30 per cent of makers of transport equipment other than cars, which include shipyards, train builders and motorcycles, were using the facility, known as “Kurzarbeit”. In the textiles sector, about 25 per cent of companies were doing so.

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