As the prolonged crisis in the metal and electro-industry persists, with eight consecutive quarters of no growth, IG-Metall CEO Christiane Benner and Gesamtmetall President Stefan Wolf have called on the government to take action to save companies and jobs.
Wolf, speaking to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, expressed concern that many companies are considering relocating out of Germany or downsizing, citing the industry’s loss of around 130,000 jobs since 2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic. “We must prevent this from happening, as it would mean losing important parts of industrial production” said Benner, emphasizing that once lost, the industry would be difficult to regain and without it, Germany would be a poor country.
Wolf demanded clear signals from the federal government to support businesses, praising the “Investitionsbooster” with improved depreciation options as a good start, but emphasizing that the problems were more complex, involving social contributions, energy prices and bureaucratic costs that needed to be reduced.
Wolf also advocated for an extension of the longer duration of the short-time work allowance, which is set to expire at the end of the year, citing positive experiences with the scheme during the pandemic. He believed that expanding short-time work could be a significant help, as it is always better for employees to keep their jobs.
Benner urged the government to provide stronger support to the auto industry, which is currently in a critical phase, requiring a period of one to two years to recover before a potential turnaround. She expected the government to use funds from the Germany Fund to support the suppliers through the difficult period.
However, Benner also emphasized that the companies themselves must take more action, investing more in future fields such as battery production, semiconductor manufacturing, storage technology and the circular economy.