PRESS RELEASE NO. 21/2020 IG Metall Survey in the Machinery Industry: More than 12 percent of companies plan to reduce their workforce

Frankfurt am Main – A growing proportion of companies in the machinery and plant engineering sector are planning to cut staff. This is shown by a survey conducted by IG Metall among works councils at more than 800 companies. According to the survey, more than 12 percent of companies intend to reduce their workforce. In over 40 percent of companies, temporary workers have been let go, and in 37 percent, fixed-term contracts have expired.

By comparison: In the last survey in April, the share of companies planning job cuts was still 8 percent; 37 percent of companies had already terminated temporary workers, and in 33 percent, fixed-term contracts had expired. “With these workforce cuts, the mechanical engineering sector runs the risk of losing its pool of skilled workers. This jeopardizes the industry’s long-term viability,” criticizes Wolfgang Lemb, executive board member of IG Metall responsible for mechanical and plant engineering.

More than 5 percent of those surveyed expect the number of new apprenticeship positions in their companies to decline. At the same time, works councils are increasingly reporting that apprentices are not being hired permanently. Before the crisis, the industry had complained that there were not enough skilled workers. Due to inadequate workforce planning and low levels of investment despite profits during the boom years, companies failed to prepare sufficiently for crisis situations. “These failures must not now be borne by apprentices and employees,” Lemb demands.

The industry experienced a long-lasting boom through 2018. In 2019, this surge slowed somewhat, but companies remained in a solid economic position. A common consequence: high workloads, special shifts, and overtime for employees.

IG Metall is also concerned about the growing investment backlog. The “Trend Report on Mechanical Engineering”—compiled before the outbreak of the pandemic—showed that nearly 35 percent of works councils already anticipated in the spring that investments would be scaled back over the next 12 months; for investments in research and development, the figure was nearly 30 percent. It can be assumed that the pandemic has made this reluctance to invest even more pronounced.

IG Metall is therefore calling on employers to take responsibility, especially during the crisis. “What the mechanical engineering industry needs right now are forward-looking strategies, not cost optimization at the expense of employees. The industry will remain viable with more investment, not less,” says Lemb.

Further information and press photos of Wolfgang Lemb