Layoffs sweep across metal and electrical sectors, affecting 20,000 workers.
Revamped Take:
Hey there, pal! Wanna know the scoop on Munich's industrial blues? The Bavarian metal and electrical industry's taken a pretty hard hit, losing a whopping 20k jobs in the past year. And guess what? In the first quarter alone, they shed nearly 10k more jobs – the steepest drop since the 2009 financial crisis and the fifth straight quarter of Decreasing employment.
A Sluggish Recovery but Clouded Horizons
The culprit behind the slump? A less-than-ideal order situation, despite a halt in the downward trend. The latest economic report reveals that, while the production in Q1 was about 2% higher than Q4 of 2024, it was still roughly 3% lower than the previous year. On the brighter side, the order intake has improved, climbing higher than that of both year-end 2024 and Q1 2024.
Gloom Ahead?
Bertram Brossardt, boss of the industry associations bayme and vbm, isn't too optimistic. High energy and interest costs, as well as burdensome bureaucracy, relentless competition from China, and political uncertainties at home and abroad have forced Bavarian M+E industry to drastically shrink production. The result? Overworked factories and job cuts. Economically speaking, we've weathered the storm, Brossardt says, but the underlying structural factors remain. He lists the ongoing trade dispute with the USA as the top concern.
Fun fact: Bavaria isn't alone in grappling with these challenges. Other regions, like Canada and the US, have faced similar issues, such as disruptions caused by trade tariffs and economic downturns affecting various sectors, including public service and metal manufacturing. It's all about staying afloat in the ever-changing, high-stakes game of global economics!
The slump in Munich's industrial sector specifically, the Bavarian metal and electrical industry, is a matter of concern for business leaders due to the significant job losses experienced in the last two years. In particular, Bertram Brossardt, head of bayme and vbm industry associations, has voiced his worries about such factors as high energy and interest costs, burdensome bureaucracy, fierce competition from China, political uncertainties, and the ongoing trade dispute with the USA, which are impacting the finance sector and causing production shrinkage.
