Oliver Zander, chief executive of Gesamtmetall, warns that this year will see a massive wave of job cuts across the German metal and electrical sectors. He points out that since 2018 the industry has already lost 270,000 jobs and now anticipates a further loss of up to 150,000 positions. To restore Germany’s competitiveness, Zander calls for sweeping reforms and savings, citing high energy costs, corporate taxes, social charges and excessive bureaucracy as key obstacles.
Zander commended the government’s plan to trim eight percent of ministerial staff, and he criticised the proposed retirement age of 63 as a “misstep”. He argues that as people live longer, an increase in the retirement age may be necessary. Additionally, he supports extending weekly working hours, asserting that every hour of productive, individually performed labor becomes increasingly valuable in the context of demographic change.
