Orders are collapsing, and at the same time everything is becoming more expensive: Many companies have to pay more attention to their costs and are also putting their personnel planning to the test. The president of the Gesamtmetall employers’ association, Stefan Wolf, is expecting job cuts in the metal and electrical industry. “The poor order situation is one reason for this. Another reason is that it is now much more attractive for more and more companies to relocate production abroad,” Wolf told “Bild am Sonntag”.
The German economy is heading towards a “real problem,” said the industry representative. “German industry is receiving far too few new orders – not just from mechanical engineering companies, but also in other key industries such as automobiles and chemicals. We are sliding into a recession, and I don’t see how that will change in 2024 under the current circumstances. “
At the car manufacturer Volkswagen, for example, numerous jobs are to be eliminated in the electric car factory in Zwickau. The oil and gas company Wintershall Dea wants to cut hundreds of jobs, primarily in Germany, and reduce the size of its board of directors as part of a savings program.
Telekom: The extent of the job cuts is still unclear
Another example is the telecommunications sector. Deutsche Telekom wants to concentrate on fiber optic expansion and also reduce staff costs. How many jobs in total will be affected is still unclear, said a spokesman for the Bonn-based company when asked at the weekend. The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported. The group said that a lot has changed due to technological advances, among other things – the last major restructuring of this kind was ten years ago.
At the internal IT service provider Telekom IT, 1,300 of the 5,400 jobs located in Germany are to be eliminated, as the company confirmed. In addition, around 350 employees will be leaving the company for early retirement or partial retirement in the coming months.
The Vodafone Group also recently imposed austerity measures, which affected over a thousand full-time positions in Germany alone – especially in administration and thus largely in the German headquarters in Düsseldorf.
ifo: Dumper on willingness to hire
According to the Ifo Institute, the tendency to save is also noticeable in new hires. “The willingness of companies in Germany to hire has taken a hit,” said Munich economic researchers recently. The Ifo employment barometer fell in September to its lowest value since February 2021. “The robust increase in employment in recent months has come to a standstill,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys. “Due to a lack of orders, positions that become vacant are filled more cautiously.”
Nevertheless, the demand for workers in Germany remains very high and there is a shortage of skilled workers in many positions. The Federal Employment Agency reported the number of vacancies in September as 761,000. However, demand is decreasing slightly.
Total Metal President Wolf sees Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) as having a duty. “I appreciate the Chancellor, but he doesn’t lead. A Chancellor has to call a spade a spade, commit his coalition partners to a common goal and then implement solutions. I miss that extremely in this government,” he said.
