Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of the Swabian engineering firm Trumpf, painted a grim picture of the current German economy. Speaking to the “Handelsblatt”, she stated that the economic situation in Germany has never been so dramatic since the end of the war, even comparing it unfavorably to the impact of the pandemic.
At a company exhibition, she observed numerous frustrated business owners, noting that many small and medium-sized enterprises were being suffocated by bureaucracy and were struggling to stay afloat. Warning that Germany was losing its industrial foundation, Leibinger-Kammüller urged a black-red coalition to take action. She deemed it the “damned duty and obligation of the federal government to establish a sensible strategy for this country”.
Regarding German politics, she stressed that the political balance between the CDU and SPD was clear: Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) must significantly accelerate the pace of reforms. She called for concrete austerity measures and structural reforms, particularly concerning the pension system. While addressing the sensitive topic of wealth taxes, the Trumpf CEO stated that she was willing to pay more taxes, provided the additional funds were allocated to education rather than being spent on generalized, inefficient subsidies. She also offered strong support for Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, praising her for being “courageous, diving into the fire, and pushing forward the right things”.
Despite the challenges, she provided a guarded outlook for the future. She noted that Trumpf employees might enjoy a bonus or a collective profit-sharing payment in the fall, something that had been unavailable for years of cuts. Furthermore, she stated that the current fiscal year 2025/26 (ending in June) is developing “quite satisfactorily” and that incoming orders are improving, generating hope. This positive trend is being driven partly by strong demand for lasers used in semiconductor manufacturing and data center development. This optimistic forecast comes despite the fact that Trumpf recorded a loss during the 2024/25 fiscal year and was forced to reduce approximately 1,000 jobs.