Green energy is killing jobs in Germany.
Germany’s economy may have narrowly avoided a recession, but the pressure on the country’s industry shows no sign of abating.
Daimler AG said this week it will shed 10% of management positions at its Mercedes unit, lifting the tally of job cuts announced this year across Germany’s manufacturing sector to more than 80,000, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Companies from Volkswagen AG to Siemens AG are letting go workers as Germany’s powerful automotive industry is struggling with a shift toward electrification and self-driving cars, and makers of machinery and robots are hit by slower exports and trade disputes.
Short-term work is at its highest in more than 3 years
While the country’s unemployment rate, at 5%, remains close to its historic low, the number of freelancers is rising and short-term work has been creeping up since last year. Automotive companies in particular have also started to shed thousands of jobs. Daimler alone pledged to cut a total of at least 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in personnel expenses -- potentially putting many more jobs at risk.
The full effect of the cuts may not be felt immediately. German labor laws and powerful unions make it difficult to fire workers, and many large companies have agreements banning forced dismissals, meaning job-cut programs have voluntary elements and sometimes run for years.
Still, the deteriorating prospects for employment could turn into a headache for the German government, which has been considering following countries from China to the U.K. in beefing up investments to stimulate its economy.
Here is a rundown of the main job cuts announced since the beginning of the year by German industrial companies. The tally includes foreign corporations that have announced cuts affecting staff in Europe’s biggest economy. It excludes the financial industry, cuts that remain unconfirmed, and programs where companies have not yet specified how many jobs will go.
COMPANY TOTAL WHERE DATE ANNOUNCED COMMENT
Airbus 1,100 Germany April 11 At Premium Aerotec in Augsburg
BASF 6,000 Global June 27 Half of those in Germany
Bilfinger 200 Germany Nov. 13 Admin and IT jobs
Bosch 2,840 Germany Oct 22 At three sites
Brose 2,000 Germany Oct 17 Bamberg, Hallstadt, Coburg, Wurzburg
Continental 20,000 Global Sept 25 7,000 in Germany
Daimler 1,100 Global Nov. 14 Managerial positions
Enercon 3,000 Germany Nov. 8 Jobs to go at Enercon and its suppliers
Diehl Aviation 240 Germany Oct. 7
Duerr 350 Germany Nov. 6 Closure of production in Hemmoor at Homag
Ford 5,000 Germany June 27 Part of 12,000 cuts across Europe
GEA Group 800 Global Sept 26 By the end of 2020
Goodyear 1,050 Germany Mar 19 Fulda, Hanau factories
Krones 400 Mostly Germany Oct. 30 Between 300 and 500
Kuka 350 Germany March 28 Augsburg headquarters
Leoni 2,000 Global March 18 500 in high-wage countries
Mann+Hummel 1,200 Global April 11 300 in Germany
Michelin 858 Germany Sept 25 French tire maker closes German site
Miele 1,720 Globally Oct. 30 890 in Germany
Philip Morris 950 Germany May 28 Ends cigarettes production in Berlin
Sanofi 466 France, Germany June 19 French drugmaker cuts R&D jobs
Schaeffler 2,200 Mostly Germany Mar 6, Oct 10
Schuler 500 Germany July 29 Production jobs
Siemens 13,100 Global May 8, June 18 2,700 at its power and gas unit, 4,900 in digital industries, 3,000 at smart infrastructure, 2,500 corporate
Stabilo-Schwan 200 Germany July 17 Jobs moved to Czech Republic, U.S.
Stahl Holding Saar 1,500 Germany Sept. 27 Jobs in Saar region
Thyssenkrupp 6,000 Germany, elsewhere May 10 4,000 in Germany
Vestas 500 Germany Sept 27 Danish wind turbine maker shrinks German plant
Voith Turbo 230 Germany Oct 14 Closing two plants
Vossloh 200 April 23 Cuts 5% of staff
Volkswagen 4,000 Germany June 5 VW brand will cut as many as 4,000 general and administrative jobs through 2023
WMF 400 July 10