Germany’s industrial companies cut around 124,100 jobs last year, continuing the negative trend seen the previous year when 56,000 positions were eliminated, according to an analysis published Tuesday by auditing and consulting firm EY. Since the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the total number of industrial jobs has fallen by 266,200, or nearly five percent. According to EY, the automotive industry was hit hardest by the job losses.
The current wave of layoffs is attributed to weak revenue performance. Last year, industrial revenues declined by 1.1 percent without adjusting for inflation, following a sharper 3.5 percent drop the year before, EY’s analysis showed. The automotive, paper and textile industries recorded particularly weak performance in 2024, each reporting revenue losses of about three percent.
Nearly 50,000 jobs were lost in the automotive sector alone last year, the EY study found. Since 2019, around 111,000 positions have been cut in the industry, representing a 13 percent decline. In contrast to the broader trend, employment rose in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector as well as in the electrical industry, increasing by three percent and two percent respectively.
The number of insolvencies among industrial companies rose last year to its highest level since 2013, according to EY. From January to November, approximately 1,480 insolvency proceedings were opened, an increase of eleven percent compared with the same period the previous year. “The German industry is in a deep crisis,” said Jan Brorhilker of EY. “It would take a real and significant upswing to prevent further erosion of employment.”
According to EY, the study is based on raw data published by the Federal Statistical Office.
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