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Car sector weakness saps industrial jobs in Germany

The number of people working in German manufacturing firms fell for the first time in nine years in December, official data showed Monday, with car industry jobs among the worst hit.

Published: 16 December 2019 11:11 CET

Car sector weakness saps industrial jobs in Germany

A Mercedes Benz employee at a factory in Bremen. Photo: DPA

Overall, December brought a 0.2-percent month-on-month fall in industrial employment to just under 5.7 million, federal statistics authority Destatis said in preliminary figures.

That was the first ebb since December 2010.

At 1.1 percent, the contraction was much sharper in the car industry, Germany's second-largest employer after machine tool making.

Several major carmakers including Volkswagen and Daimler have announced thousands of job cuts for the coming years.

The industry has for years battled to escape the after-effects of the “dieselgate” emissions cheating scandal that broke over VW in 2015 and has since spread to other manufacturers.

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Meanwhile a forecast for the number of cars set to roll off German production lines this year showed the figure at a 22-year low of 4.67 million.

“The fall in car production means Germany continues to lose significance in the global auto industry,” said study author Ferdinand Dudenhöffer of the Center Automotive Research.

Around the world, car markets have been battered by the effects of the American trade conflict with China.

“In a simple image, Donald Trump is putting workers in the German car industry on shorter hours,” Dudenhoeffer said.

But structural reasons are also behind falling output in Germany.

Where in 1998 close to 12 percent of all cars sold worldwide were produced in Europe's powerhouse, the share has shrunk to below six percent this year, Dudenhöffer said.

Germany's share of production has contracted as the country's powerful car manufacturers have grown their operations abroad, he added.

That makes Germany more dependent than ever on good trading relations, especially with China, Dudenhöffer said.

The expert also forecast that German car production would begin growing again in 2021 after bottoming out next year.

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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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