Industry: Gesamtmetall calls for reforms and warns of further job cuts
The metal and electrical industry is in crisis: 42 percent of companies are planning to cut jobs. Gesamtmetall is calling on the government to implement rapid reforms.
Berlin - In response to a grim forecast for the metal and electronics industries, the employer organization Gesamtmetall has called on the federal government to implement urgent reforms in taxes, social contributions, and bureaucracy. Chief executive Oliver Zander specifically criticized Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's budget policies, saying, "Klingbeil is not saving a single penny."
The issue is to relieve companies and stabilize social contributions. To achieve this, the federation demands that the Bund fund healthcare costs for social welfare recipients more through tax revenue. To finance this, Klingbeil must "go through everything and massively cut costs." The motivation is a rapid survey by the federation, according to which two out of five metal and electronics companies assess their business situation as poor.
42 percent plan to reduce staff in the next six months. Over the next three to five years, more than 10,000 businesses are expected to shrink, and around 1,000 locations may face closure, according to calculations by the federation.
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