Germany is facing massive layoffs, with 88 companies across the country planning to cut a total of 147,522 jobs, Bild newspaper reported, citing a study by the lobby group Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (INSM).
The study looked at data on companies that had announced plans to cut jobs since July 1, 2024. The list represents almost every industry. It includes large corporations such as auto parts suppliers, logistics and IT companies, airlines and smaller mechanical engineering firms. Deutsche Bahn alone plans to cut 30,000 jobs, while auto parts supplier ZF plans to cut 14,000.
„Hundreds of thousands of jobs in German industry have been lost. "This says a lot about the economic policies of the previous and current government," INSM head Thorsten Alsleben told the newspaper. He believes that if German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not take radical measures, "we can forget about the economic platform called Germany." He cited excessive bureaucracy, high taxes and a shortage of qualified personnel as the causes of these problems.
Free Democratic Party deputy chairman Wolfgang Kubitzki said he was disappointed with the current chancellor's actions. According to him, "the only things that are growing under the Merz government are the national debt and unemployment."