German metal employers expect further job cuts as orders stay weak

In brief

• Gesamtmetall reportedly expects job cuts in Germany's metal and electrical industry to speed up.
• The cuts are linked to weak orders and high production costs.
• The warnings were issued during warning strikes in the current wage dispute, and no specific job figure is confirmed.

Employers expect faster job losses

The employers' association Gesamtmetall expects job cuts in Germany's metal and electrical industry to accelerate, according to a newspaper report (Industrie - Metall-Arbeitgeber gehen von weiterem Job-Abbau aus – Deutschlandfunk). The reason cited is a sustained weak order intake combined with high production costs.

Warnings during wage dispute

The association has also painted a bleak outlook amid warning strikes by unions in the current collective bargaining round (Tarifkonflikt: Metallarbeitgeber warnen vor Abbau von 300.000 Jobs bis 2029 – ZEIT ONLINE). According to the report, the sector could cut more jobs than previously assumed.

Scale of the forecast

The employers' warnings have not been tied to a specific number of jobs or a fixed time horizon in the available reports. The forecast remains a general projection from the employers' side and is tied to the same wage conflict in which the employers are negotiating with unions.

What it means for workers

For the roughly sector-wide workforce, the outlook points to a longer period of uncertainty over jobs and pay. Neither report sets out a timetable for individual plant closures or specific company cuts, so the forecast remains a projection rather than a confirmed plan.