Jobs
Germany Faces $85 Billion Hit as Labor Shortages Intensify
- Airbus, BMW, BASF among major manufacturers short of staff
- Unions demanding steep wage hikes amid record inflation
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As Germany grapples with an energy crisis threatening its future as an industrial leader, an acute shortage of workers is compounding problems for manufacturers already struggling to stay competitive.
The lack of qualified labor -- brought on by an aging population and exacerbated by the pandemic -- is starving manufacturers from Airbus SE to BMW AG to BASF SE of the staff they need to keep pace with demand. Recent surveys found a record 50% of firms are cutting output due to staffing problems, and it’s costing the economy as much as $85 billion per year.