A leading business association has warned of accelerating deindustrialization in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, as the metal and electrical industries shed about 2,100 jobs every month.
Johannes Pöttering, chief executive of Unternehmer NRW, told the Rheinische Post that the losses are hitting highly paid positions averaging nearly €65,000 annually, with consequences for tax revenues and social contributions.
Industrial output in NRW’s metal and electrical sector has plunged 23 percent since 2019, while the chemical industry is operating at just 70 percent capacity.
Pöttering described the situation across much of the state’s industry as “extremely worrying.”
The association is calling on federal and state governments to adopt a new agenda to counter high energy costs, heavy bureaucracy and internationally uncompetitive tax burdens.