760,000 German Industrial Jobs at Risk

Germany could lose 760,000 industrial jobs over the next five years, according to a report in business weekly Wirtschaftswoche. The paper quoted an as yet unpublished study commissioned by the Bavarian metal and electronics industry association VBM that said most of the jobs will migrate to Eastern Europe and Asia. The survey of 100 industry employers showed that between 2005 and 2009, companies will increasingly re-locate jobs from Germany to countries where costs are lower. One-third of the companies surveyed opened production sites abroad between 2000 and 2004, while half said they would do so within the next five years. Some 11 percent of the firms said they would neither sell their products from Germany nor offer service from locations in the country. Every 10th firm -- more than double the current number -- intended to hire buyers from outside of Germany. Slightly more employers were also willing to move research and development abroad.