- Metals and electrical industry with negative new orders
The metal and electro-industry in Baden-Württemberg reports a significant decrease in orders received in the first half of the year. From January to June, around ten percent fewer orders were recorded compared to the previous year, as reported by the employers' association Südwestmetall. With the exception of one month, new orders have been negative for the past 19 months, it was stated.
Südwestmetall CEO Oliver Barta commented: "We are not only far from the level before the start of the Corona crisis, but we are also lagging behind the global industrial development." This, he said, is evidence of the additional burdens on the site: the economic downturn is increasingly being overshadowed by structural changes and poor framework conditions, causing the crisis to solidify.
Barta called for political measures to "strengthen the site and make investments in the future here more attractive." He saw a need for action in areas such as tax and levy burden, energy prices, and the speed of procedures, as well as noticeable bureaucratic relief and reliable framework conditions in structural change. The "debate" over the heating law or the sudden end of the subsidy for electric cars has unsettled citizens and also called into question the investments of companies in future technologies.
However, Barta also called for a compromise from the social partners before the wage negotiations begin in September: "The high labor costs are most frequently mentioned by our companies as a significant disadvantage to the site. Driving these costs even higher does not strengthen the site." The IG Metal is demanding, among other things, a seven percent increase in wages for the approximately one million employees in the southwest.
The metal and electro-industry in Baden-Württemberg is currently experiencing a crisis, as highlighted by Südwestmetall CEO Oliver Barta, who noted that they are not only far from pre-Corona crisis levels but also lagging behind global industrial development. The ongoing crisis is being exacerbated by structural changes and poor framework conditions, according to Barta.
