How the mighty have fallen

And keep fallin’.

Germany’s auto industry loses over 42,000 jobs in six months – Germany’s struggling automotive industry is facing further pressure as employment in the sector continues to decline.

According to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the number of people employed at automotive manufacturing companies fell by 42,300, or 5.8%, in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2025.

Following the decline, employment in Germany’s automotive industry dropped to 691,500. This is the lowest level recorded since 2005.

German of the day: Blutung

That means hemorrhage.

Germany news: Industry hemorrhaging 15,000 jobs a month – Industry boss Tanja Gönner says the situation is critical but offers opportunity.

The head of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) says the country has become less competitive and called on politicians and business leaders to usher in a course correction.

German of the day: Lohnfortzahlung

That means the continued payment of wages.

Germans are sick one day each month on average. It looks like the German government MIGHT actually do something about it. Finally.

Should employees on sick leave receive less pay? In its efforts to combat high rates of sick leave, the federal government could also restrict continued pay. Researcher Enzo Weber explains what this would mean for those who feign illness and those who are genuinely sick.

The next 20,000 jobs gone

Could it be our ridiculously high energy costs? Nah.

Germany’s industrial engine sputters as Bosch axes 20,000 jobs – Rising unemployment rate piles pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government.

German industrial giant Bosch on Friday confirmed plans to cut 20,000 jobs after profits nearly halved last year, underlining the mounting strain on Germany’s once-dominant manufacturing sector and increasing the pressure on politicians in Berlin to find a solution.

Official data released Friday also showed Germany’s unemployment rate, unadjusted for seasonal factors, rising to 6.6 percent — the highest level in twelve years. The number of unemployed people surpassed three million in January.

German of the day: Stellenabbau

That means job cuts.

German business groups expect job cuts in 2026 as economic crisis drags on – A majority of German business associations expect job cuts in 2026 as the country’s economic crisis persists, with industry hit hardest by global protectionism and weak exports, a survey by the German Economic Institute IW showed on Monday.

Of 46 business associations surveyed, 22 anticipate workforce reductions next year. Only nine expect to increase hiring and 15 foresee stable employment levels.

13,000 jobs here, 4,000 jobs there…

Progress marches on.

Industrial giant Bosch shocks Germany with plans to cut 13,000 jobs – The Bosch group, one of Germany’s leading industrial players, has announced a far-reaching job cut programme. On 25 September the company said it would cut an additional 13,000 positions by 2030.

Germany’s Lufthansa To Cut 4,000 Jobs By 2030, Targetting Admin – Lufthansa set new financial targets for 2028-2030, including an adjusted operating margin of eight to 10 percent.

Work more than 34 hours a week?

Not with us!

Does Germany need to work harder? Its government seems to think so – The average workweek in Germany last year was about 34 hours, according to Eurostat data, less than France and Greece as well as the average across the European Union, which was 36 hours. In addition, German labor productivity per hour has also been essentially flat since 2009.

A study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reports that Germans work the least among its member countries, clocking in at 1,335 hours per person per year in 2023, compared to 1,496 hours in the U.K. and 1,805 hours in the U.S.

“Free money”

Brilliant. This is better than free lunch!

Why didn’t anyone ever think of this before?

Free money for all: Germany’s basic income experiment – One of the world’s most extensive studies on unconditional basic income was held in Germany. What does the experiment reveal?

… It is seen as a redistribution of wealth through taxes. In the activists’ calculation, Germany’s top earners — 10% of the population — would end up contributing a part of their income to everyone else. They estimate that 83% of the population would thereby have access to more money. The remaining 7% mid-earners would be unaffected by the redistribution scheme.

In times of rising populism, the basic income activists believe that this is a way to combat the population’s dissatisfaction due to wealth inequality.

Sorry, we’re only firing at the moment

Hiring war gestern (was yesterday).

German companies’ hiring plans drop to four-year low, Ifo finds – German companies are less willing to hire new staff than at any point in more than four years, data from the Ifo institute showed on Monday, as weakness in Europe’s largest economy has left its mark on the country’s labour market.

Ifo’s employment barometer fell to 93.7 points in October from 94.0 points in September, the lowest level since July 2020.