economic situation
Ifo Institute: The mood in the auto industry is even worse
Lack of orders, poor foreign business: There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to the decline in Germany’s most important industrial sector.
According to the Ifo Institute, the mood in the crisis-ridden German auto industry has deteriorated further. The monthly index for the business climate in the auto industry fell to minus 34.7 points in December 2024, after minus 32.4 points in November, as the Munich economists announced. Accordingly, according to the Ifo Institute, the number of companies thinking about workforce reductions is growing.
The economic research institute asks companies every month to assess their current business situation as well as their expectations for the next few months. If the majority of companies are pessimistic, the respective indicator values are negative. In December, expectations for the next few months became significantly more pessimistic, with the corresponding indicator falling from minus 30.9 to minus 37.1 points.
More companies are considering job cuts
One reason is a lack of orders. Expectations for foreign business have also deteriorated again. However, the companies assessed their current situation as slightly less bad; the value rose from minus 33.8 to minus 32.3 points.
According to Ifo, the downward trend also continues in personnel planning: employment expectations fell from minus 33.9 points in November to minus 36.7 points in December. “More companies than before are discussing job cuts,” commented Anita Wölfl, the car specialist at the Ifo Institute.
dpa
Source: Stern
