May regulars' table 2025
As the first Thursday of the month fell on May 1, the May Stamm was moved to May 8, 2025. Eight alumni met at 18:30 in the Brasserie Kirchberg, 193, rue de Kirchberg, 1858 Luxembourg.
This article is translated with AI.
Goodbye SKYPE, hello TEAMS
Skype was discontinued on May 5, 2025.
Beginnings
The beginnings are not so well known. The Swede Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis worked from their office (consisting of a living room and bathroom) in rue Adolphe Fischer in Luxembourg's station district in early 2003. They were attracted by the low VAT rate and the start-up business climate. The first test version took place on August 29, 2003.
Financial problems
At the end of 2003, the company ran out of money. Skype was more of a concept. Broadband Internet was still largely an unknown quantity for investors.
Computer game experts from Estonia developed software that enabled direct transfer between individual users' computers without the need for intermediary servers. Finally, a consortium of convinced investors provided 18 million dollars for Skype.
Happy start
One year after its launch, Skype already had ten million users. Microsoft, Google and Facebook made takeover bids. The winning bid went to Microsoft for 8.5 billion dollars.
Definition of a "low salary"
There are 489,000 salaried employees in Luxembourg (47% of whom are cross-border commuters). Median hourly wage: €24. 14% of salaried employees receive a low salary. 16 € per hour is considered a low salary.
Petrol station in the Berchem area
20 years ago, the 8 petrol stations located on a freeway sold 1 billion liters per year.
In 2015, the service station in the Berchem area sold 400 million liters of fuel. Now sales are reported at 100 million liters per year. Q8 took over from Shell on May 1, 2025.
CARGOLUX
Cargolux benefited from "e-commerce" in 2024. The flow of goods from Asia to Europe and America has increased significantly. Cargolux closes the 2024 financial year with a net profit of 448 million dollars (2023: 226 million dollars).
Luxembourg-America trade
Luxembourg exported 12.9 million dollars worth of iron blocks and 8.85 million dollars worth of iron sheet piling to the United States in 2024.
Between January 2024 and January 2025, the United States exported 128 million dollars worth of goods to Luxembourg, while Luxembourg exported 76.8 million dollars worth of goods to the United States.
Labor costs per hour
In the private sector, the average hourly labor cost in Luxembourg is €55.2 (EU €33.5/hour).
De-industrialization
In 1975, 40 percent of employees worked in industry, in 1990 less than 20 percent. Between 1995 and 2020, the share of economic output fell from 13.7 to 4.9 percent. In 1995, 15 percent of employees worked in industry, 27 percent.