MAN Energy Solutions announced plans to fire almost 4,000 of its total global workforce of 14,000, about 3,000 of whom will lose their jobs in Germany alone. The depression in the automobile sector, also outside of Germany, has worsened perspectives for the Augsburg-based company, a leading motor producer, particularly for trucks and buses. The crisis in the automobile sector affects the machine-building sector, a main supplier of machinery for car manufacturing, heavily — in many cases leading to an existential threat to those machine producers.
Most recent assessments by branch analysts expect insolvencies for 27% of enterprises in Germany’s service sector, and 21% for the producing sector. In the machine-building industry, fears that the percentage may turn out to be much higher, were voiced in an opinion poll by the national machine-builders association VDMA. There, 45% expect a “considerable“ decrease in new orders, another 34% even speak of a “grave“ drop in orders.
Preliminary responses by enterprises have been short time work for workers (in 60% of firms), cuts in employment of workers from leasing firms (50%), and reduction of workforce in 17% of firms. In most cases, these steps have helped to prevent an acute existential crisis. But if — as also most entrepreneurs in the machine-building sector fear — the depression lasts longer, likely into the next year, insolvency becomes unavoidable.
