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German carmakers plan hiring spree for 2012

Leading German carmakers are planning to add more workers to the payroll next year. Big firms such as Porsche, BMW and Volkswagen say that they will be hiring thousands more workers in 2012.

Published: 13 November 2011 10:04 CET

German carmakers plan hiring spree for 2012

Image Source: DPA

When asked if he intended to have more or fewer workers in 2012, Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “If anything, more. Perhaps around 500,000.” The company currently has 449,000 employees across the world.

Porsche chairman of the board, Matthias Müller, estimates that the company will see an increase of 10 percent on its current staff level of 12,200. Audi boss Rupert Stadler, meanwhile, told the newspaper that he expected a long-term growth of 10,000 additional employees by 2020.

BMW’s Norbert Reithofer said that the staffing levels would depend on future developments, while Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche said that the company had already hired 10,000 new staff in 2011 and did not expect to see any significant increase next year.

Germany’s luxury car brands have weathered the global economic downturn well. In September, Zetsche told the magazine Automotive News Europe that Daimler expected to sell 1.35 million cars this year, compared to 1.2 million in 2010.

BMW has already signalled that it expects to see sales of 1.6 million cars this year, while Audi is predicting that it will sell 1.2 million vehicles.

DAPD/The Local/smd

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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