Massive job losses in German industry: 100,000 jobs threatened!

The situation in the German manufacturing sector remains tense. An estimated further 100,000 jobs could be lost by the end of 2025, as a study by the management consultancy EY shows. 70,000 jobs have already been cut in 2024, highlighting the challenges in the industry.

Jan Brorhilker, an expert at EY, points out that the number of employees has fallen by a total of 141,400 since 2019. There are many reasons for this: a weak global economy, high energy prices and increased competition, particularly from companies from China, are affecting German industry.

Declines in sales and production relocations

The current development is alarming: sales of German industrial companies fell by 3.8% last year compared to the previous year, which corresponds to a loss of 83.6 billion euros. The electrical engineering industry was particularly hard hit, recording a decline in sales of 7.5%. The metal and automotive industries also suffered losses, with sales declines of 5.1% and 5.0%.

Employment development follows these negative sales trends with a time lag. Companies are trying to delay job cuts for as long as possible. Nevertheless, it is increasingly expected that production will be relocated abroad, which will place additional pressure on employment. New investments are increasingly being made abroad, while domestic demand fell by 4.8% and exports by 2.8%.

Jan Brorhilker was clearly pessimistic about the prospects for the industry in the current year. Companies must take measures to reduce costs, increase flexibility and increase competitiveness to meet growing challenges.

For more details on current industry developments, read reports from World and EY.