German industrial employment continues to decline, with the automobile sector accounting for a disproportionate share of losses. Roughly 51,500 car industry jobs were lost in a year, equal to 6.7% of the sector's workforce, and almost half of 114,000 industrial jobs lost across sectors. Since 2019, about 112,000 carmaking jobs have been eliminated, nearly half in the most recent 12 months. Industrial turnover fell 2.1% in Q2 2025 versus 0.3% overall contraction. Only electronics saw turnover growth, while carmakers' revenues dipped 1.6%. Exports to the US dropped around 10% and to China 14% year-on-year.
EY recorded roughly 51,500 lost car industry jobs in the space of a year, equating to 6.7% of the sector's total workforce. This made up almost half of the 114,000 industrial jobs lost in the same time period. The phenomenon also appears to be accelerating: Since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 112,000 carmaking jobs have been lost in Germany
The turnover of German industrial companies dipped by 2.1% in the second quarter of 2025, much more than the 0.3% negative growth overall. Only the electronics industry improved turnover in the quarter, car companies' revenues dipped by 1.6%. Exports to the US, Germany's largest single market, dipped by around 10%, with EY's Jan Brohriker predicting that "improvement is not in sight" given President Donald Trump's introduction of new, slightly higher tariffs at 15% for cars.
Long Germany's second most lucrative export market, China has slipped to sixth in the rankings, with a 14% year-on-year dip in the last quarter. "The US and China are currently the cause of major concerns," Brohriker said. "The Chinese market was particularly attractive to the automobile industry for a long time, with very large margins. But in the meantime the wind has turned, particularly for foreign carmakers: demand is dropping drastically and turnover is collapsing."
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