Frankfurt – Despite the political and economic uncertainties, the situation of companies in the metal and electronics industry is still mostly solid. That is the result of a works council survey by IG Metall, in which works councils from around 3,360 companies took part in the past two weeks.
Scaremongering is unfounded
Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall, therefore warns against panic-mongering, as was recently heard from the employers’ camp, with a view to the survey results: “The many imponderables in view of the general political climate naturally lead to uncertainty and tension in the companies as well. In some small and medium-sized businesses with high energy costs, the situation is indeed serious. Fast, targeted support from politicians is needed here. Overall, however, there is no reason for a mood of doom. This is proven by the key figures from our survey.”
High utilization, many orders
Accordingly, three quarters of the companies report good or very good figures in terms of capacity utilization, order backlog and incoming orders. Around two thirds of the companies are currently making good or very good sales. A mixed picture emerges when it comes to profits and investments. Almost half of the works councils surveyed rated the situation as good or very good. However, this only leads to acute liquidity bottlenecks in 12 percent of the companies. Only a little more than two percent of the companies are at risk of insolvency in the next three months.
Increased prices are passed on
According to the survey, significantly more than two thirds of the companies are at least partially passing on the increased prices. This is significantly more than in the spring of the current year, when the works councils estimated that only a good half of the companies were able to do so.
The employment situation has also been largely stable so far. Almost a quarter of the works councils surveyed reported that there was a current increase in the number of permanent employees.
Tariff claims are feasible
Jörg Hofmann sees the survey confirming the position of IG Metall in the current round of collective bargaining for the metal and electrical industry: “Our collective bargaining demand is and remains appropriate and is clearly feasible for the companies in the sector. Employers must now finally put a substantial offer on the table. They don’t just owe it to their employees. As the collective bargaining partners, we must now ensure that purchasing power is stabilized in order to prevent a deeper recession in the German economy.”
In the period from September 26 to October 9, 2022, IG Metall asked the works councils organized in the union about the economic situation of their companies. Employee representatives from around 3,360 companies from the organizational area of IG Metall took part in the survey.