- Maintaining a consistent workforce in mechanical engineering remains steady.
Despite a dip in orders and production, the machinery and plant engineering sector in Germany has managed to keep its workforce largely unscathed. However, economic weakness might force around a quarter of companies to trim their staff in the near future. Ralph Wiechers, VDMA's chief economist, ponders if these layoffs will be permanent or if they'll be offset by new hires later on.
In 2022, the sector saw a minor decrease of 0.7% in employment, equating to 6,800 positions. With over 1 million employees in companies with at least 50 employees, the industry continues to hold its title as Germany's largest industrial employer.
The VDMA believes that companies would strive to minimize core workforce reductions due to the ongoing skilled labor shortage. Approximately 60% of companies anticipate maintaining their core workforce in the initial half of 2025, despite the tough circumstances.
However, the VDMA urges the incoming government to promptly instate labor market reforms to bolster the situation. Their primary demands include modernizing the Working Hours Act with weekly max hours instead of daily, along with reducing burdensome bureaucracy, particularly in labor law.
The VDMA has not explicitly detailed specific labor market reforms in their statements, but they've highlighted the necessity of broader economic reforms to address the sector's challenges. These reforms encompass reducing bureaucracy, decreasing energy costs, and upgrading education to foster competitiveness, ultimately helping to mitigate permanent job losses.
In the industrial sector, particularly machinery and plant engineering, the VDMA forecasts that some companies might reduce their workforce by a quarter by 2025 due to economic challenges. Despite this trend, the VDMA emphasizes the importance of labor market reforms, such as modernizing the Working Hours Act and reducing bureaucracy, to prevent permanent job losses by 2025. The VDMA has highlighted the need for broader economic reforms, including decreasing energy costs and upgrading education, to enhance competitiveness in the employment sector.
