North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s industrial heartland, is facing a looming crisis of deindustrialization, prompting urgent calls for significant policy intervention. The State Association of Employers’ Associations (Unternehmer NRW) is raising alarms over accelerating job losses and declining production levels across key sectors, warning of potentially devastating economic and social consequences.
According to Johannes Pöttering, CEO of Unternehmer NRW, the metal and electrical industries in the region are haemorrhaging approximately 2,100 industrial jobs monthly. These aren’t low-wage positions; Pöttering underscores that the average annual salary in the NRW metal industry sits at nearly €65,000, representing a substantial loss of tax revenue and social security contributions when these roles disappear.
The situation transcends the metal and electrical sectors. Chemical companies are currently operating at just 70% capacity and production within the broader metal and electrical industries has plummeted by a staggering 23% compared to 2019 figures. This decline, coupled with existing workforce surpluses, raises serious concerns that job cuts will accelerate in the coming months.
The employers’ association is demanding a fundamental shift in policy from both the federal and state governments. The core complaint revolves around a toxic combination of factors undermining competitiveness. High energy costs, a tax burden perceived as internationally uncompetitive, rigid labor regulations leading to shorter working hours, suffocating bureaucracy and protracted planning and approval processes are all singled out as critical areas requiring immediate and decisive action.
Critics suggest that previous government interventions have failed to adequately address these systemic issues, leaving businesses struggling to navigate a hostile economic environment. The current crisis highlights a growing disconnect between the regulatory landscape and the demands of a globally competitive industrial sector and underscores the political pressure mounting on policymakers to implement bold and transformative reforms before the region’s industrial base irrevocably diminishes. The potential consequences extend beyond mere economic indicators, impacting regional employment and the viability of social welfare systems reliant on a robust industrial tax base.
