An analysis by consultants at EY-Parthenon, done as part of the Employment Barometer 2026, found that the 46,000 job cuts so far this year at big German companies listed on the stock market index DAX (Volkswagen, Siemens, etc.) are more severe than those at non-listed companies. 69 percent of companies with more than 100,000 employees have reduced their workforces, whereas among smaller DAX companies, 69 percent increased (!) employment. Less emphasis on shareholder value and more emphasis on new investments to increase production is observed at the smaller category of companies. Managers at bigger companies are often focusing on layoffs as the first step of “consolidation,” as expendable mass, whereas those at smaller firms view their workforce as a precious value not to be thrown away.