The export -oriented large companies suffer from the global economic situation characterized by tariffs and political tensions. Not only sales and profits decrease, the number of jobs also shrinks. The number of employees of the 40 largest German listed companies has dropped by 0.9 percent in the middle of the year. This corresponds to a decline of 30,000 positions compared to the previous year, as the auditing and consulting company EY calculated in the context of an analysis of the current business figures of the DAX groups for the three months from April to June. Last year. It is expected in full -time equivalents; For example, two half places count as one. While 14 companies reduced the number of jobs, the number of employees increased in 20 companies. The armaments manufacturer Rheinmetall even increased the number of its employees by almost 17 percent, and the aircraft turbine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines rose by almost seven percent. Budget companies are currently benefiting from an armaments boom in the face of growing geopolitical tensions. However, they also supply civilian customers. For example, MTU Aero Engines deserves with the maintenance of civil aircraft. The energy group Eon, the German Stock Exchange, the technology company Siemens Energy and the insurer Hanover, increased the number of their employees significantly in the second quarter. According to EY, the number of the jobs should not continue to hide the fact that some large corporations will carry out ambitious cost cuts with severance payments that will only be shown in the company’s figures with delay. “The decline in the number of employees will stop and even intensify,” says Henrik Ahlers, CEO of EY. According to Ahlers, the large industrial companies in particular have to slim down, for example, delete positions in the administration and levels in management. The increasing use of artificial intelligence in companies also increases speed in research and development, but at the same time lower the need for employees. The EY boss sees this development as a test for the location of Germany. In particular, the auto industry with Volkswagen is the largest German company at the top. Volkswagen is also the German company with the most employees. Almost 636,000 employees work for the VW group all over the world. He had announced a historical job reduction program in December 2024. In the USA and China, two very large markets for the auto industry, the conditions for German car brands have seriously deteriorated. During the USA, autozölle spend the water in China. Because China’s once dependent on the western technology transfer has long since set standards in terms of electromobility, digital driving comfort and autonomous driving. According to EY, the German auto industry has caught on the wrong foot on the subject of change in the industry. A significant improvement is not to be expected for the time being. “We will see a reduction in production capacities up to work closings and job cuts to a larger scale,” forecast Jan Brorhilker, Managing Partner of the EY-Wirtschaftsprüfung. The Auto crisis not only captures the leading brands such as VW, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Mercedes, but also their suppliers. The car supplier Continental, which underwent a large group renovation, shows this with 7.6 percent significant job minus on the EY list, followed by the chemical giants Bayer with 7.3 percent. At VW, the number of jobs fell by 3.1 percent.
Go to source