European Economy Runs in Place: Exports Challenges and New Forms of Energy
Major industrial manufacturers lay off thousands of workers
The economic crisis is claiming new victims in Europe: trade is shrinking, and thousands of workers are being thrown out of business.
In August 2024, exports from Germany to countries outside the European Union decreased by 1.1% compared to the previous month’s results, totaling €58.5 billion. According to figures released today by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the United States reaffirmed itself as Germany’s most important trading partner, exporting 12.6 billion euros worth of goods and services abroad.
In second place is China, which imported 7 billion euros worth of goods and services from Germany.
While German automakers are revising their production and investment programs downward due to declining registrations, other major industrial companies in Germany are also announcing layoffs and cutbacks. The new CEO of German steel giant ThyssenKrupp, Dennis Grimm, intends to initiate a major reorganization of the company: “Serious cuts are needed. We have to become more profitable,” Grimm told the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. According to Grimm, current market conditions “have deteriorated again in recent months, and unfortunately there is no recovery in sight.” A new production plan is underway that will involve unprecedented company layoffs. Grimm did not specify how many jobs would be cut.
The economic situation is also “grim” in France, where 61 companies with more than 10 employees were announced to close in the first half of 2024, which is 9% more than in the same period in 2023. During the period, 79 new industrial sites were opened, a 4% year-on-year decrease. While the net balance is still positive (18 more openings than closings), the figure is still down 30% year-over-year.
Even Sweden, a former bastion of economic prosperity, is losing ground against the spreading crisis. Following an unprecedented decline in electric car sales , Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has announced that it will “cut 1600 jobs in Sweden.” About a thousand jobs will disappear at the Skellerftea plant, 400 at Vasteras, and another 200 in Stockholm. According to the Swedish press, “this represents a total of 25% of Northvolt’s workforce in the Scandinavian country.”
