Most of the 5,000 or so companies in the WSM sectors are SMEs, often automotive suppliers. "Job cuts are the very last step for these companies. The fact that they are taking it now shows how serious the situation is," says Holger Ade, Head of Industrial and Energy Policy at the WSM. For the first time in decades, an economic downturn can no longer be regulated by temporary workers and the instrument of short-time working.
Business climate for steel and metal processors
According to the WSM, a lack of industrial policy and ideologically rigid positions have contributed to the economic downturn. The consequences are reflected in the latest business climate of steel and metal processors: 53% are already feeling the dramatic effects first hand, 47% are expecting further declines. As a result, 19 percent are already working short-time and a further 33 percent will start doing so in the next quarter. And 41 percent will have to cut jobs.
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