pessimism
Every third company plans to reduce employment in 2025
The German economy is in a doldrum, especially industry groans. This could cost numerous people the job this year.
More than three out of ten companies in Germany assume that they will reduce jobs this year. In an economic survey by the employer -related institute of the German Economy (IW) in Cologne, 35 percent of the companies replied that they assumed a reduction in employment in 2025. However, only 24 percent planned to hire more employees. In March and April 2025, the IW surveyed around 2,000 companies on their business expectations.
In the same survey last autumn, entrepreneurs were even more pessimistic: At that time, 38 percent planned to reduce employment and only 17 percent with an structure.
The proportion of pessimistic companies in industry was particularly high in the current spring survey: 42 percent expect to have to reduce jobs in the course of this year (job structure: 20 percent). In the service industry, on the other hand, it was only 21 percent (structure: 36 percent).
Geopolitical conflicts weaknesses global economy
“German industry is still suffering from the geopolitical conflicts and the associated weaker global economy,” the study said. “The imponderables of the new US government tighten this.” High energy, regulation and labor costs also weaken competitiveness and thus the German foreign business of companies.
In the survey period, none of the customs regulations – already relatively unclear and already changed several times, “the export climate was already poisoned,” says the statement on the study. “The customs war is enormous,” says IW economic chief Michael Grömling. “(US President) Donald Trump’s moods come to a wrong time and are a hardness test for the German economy.”
dpa
Source: Stern
