Losses for German automotive supplier ZF double to €2.1bn after electrification failure
German technology group ZF Friedrichshafen has reported a net loss after tax of €2.1 billion for fiscal 2025, almost doubling the €1.
Industrial policy
Latest reporting and analysis on industrial policy.
McKinsey says VW should close down almost all plants in Germany
In a stark assessment of Volkswagen's (VW) ongoing struggles, international management consultancy McKinsey & Company has reportedly advised the German automotive…
Volkswagen Group to cut 50,000 jobs in Germany as profits tumble
Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen Group, has presented dismal 2025 annual results.
German industry orders plummet in January with oil prices adding to pain
Germany’s industrial sector has started weakly into the New Year.
Polish President proposes funding rearmament from central bank profits, not EU loan
Poland’s President and the head of the central bank have proposed a “sovereign, Polish” alternative to the government’s legislation to facilitate borrowing…
German industry group says country ‘permanently damaged’ as business venue
The German industry association for the metals and electronics sector, Gesamtmetall, or the Federation of German Employers' Associations in the Metal and Electrical…
Trump administration have a vision of Hamilton’s ‘American System’ economics
The Supreme Court decision striking down Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs at will has important implications…
Volkswagen mulls plant closures and drastic cuts to stop losing money
Volkswagen is facing its most severe restructuring since the 2015 "Dieselgate" scandal as CEO Oliver Blume proposes a €60 billion cost-slashing programme and refuses…
German town turns down €2.5 billion data centre project by US investor
Politicians in the German town of Great-Gerau near Frankfurt have refused plans by a US company to build one of Europe’s biggest data centres.
VW and Stellantis urge help to keep carmaking in Europe
Europe's largest carmakers Volkswagen and Stellantis have called for subsidies to keep carmaking in the EU as they struggle with challenges from US tariffs to Chinese…
Volkswagen CEO may pull plans for new US plant unless tariffs cut
The chief executive of German automotive behemoth Volkswagen Group says his companies will have to scrap plans for a new production plant in the US unless tariffs…
German steel output plunges to 2009-crisis lows
Germany’s steel sector has recorded its bleakest performance in more than 15 years, with crude steel production in 2025 falling to just 34.1 million tonnes.
Updated: Renault to start long-range military drone production at two plants
French automobile maker Renault is reportedly starting production of long-range drones for military use at two of its plants in France.
Large company bankruptcies skyrocket in Germany
The number of bankruptcy cases involving big companies in Germany sharply rose in 2025.
Under Trump, America is fulfilling its Roman destiny
At long last, in its 250th year, the American Republic has caught up with its explicitly Roman founding model.
Former head of ESM foresees drastic loss of prosperity for Germans
The former head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Klaus Regling has warned Germans they will be facing unforeseen losses of wealth and prosperity.
German ‘car capital’ in dire straits as automotive sector crisis intensifies
The city of Stuttgart in southwestern Germany might be facing insolvency.
Ford drops electrical vehicle strategy on lack of demand, writes off €16.6 billion
US carmaker Ford has announced far-reaching changes to its electrical vehicle (EV) strategy.
German economy will continue to struggle with minimal growth, say leading institutes
Germany’s economy is expected to expand only modestly over the next three years, as structural obstacles, global trade pressures, and cautious private investment…
French court liquidates appliance giant Brandt, 700 jobs to go
The French court pulled the plug on Brandt, the century-old appliance maker once seen as a pillar of national industry.
Switzerland breaks tradition on arms exports, tests neutrality in Ukraine war
Switzerland has taken a historic step away from its traditionally restrictive stance on arms exports.
Germany as ‘business location in free fall,’ industry association warns
The Federation of German Industries (BDI), one of Germany’s major business associations, has warned the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz that the economy…
Energy-hungry European industries ‘dying’, top bank chief warns
Energy-hungry industries Europe are effectively "dying" as rising energy prices, the flood of cheap goods from China and the side effects of climate policies make…
EU ‘can’t become a Chinese assembly line’
The European Union must close its doors to countries, especially China, that take advantage of the bloc's lack of domestic industrial protection, says a senior EU…
US pharma tariffs push EU chemical firms towards defence investment
Following the US decision to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, more European Union chemical and industrial firms are turning their focus towards the defence sector.
Two in five German industrial companies plan job cuts in 2026
Sentiment in Germany’s industrial sector is at rock bottom with more than 40 per cent of companies planning to reduce their workforce in the coming year.
Why the West’s war on industry has become its greatest weakness
The post-war order of free trade is dying before our eyes—and perhaps that's the best thing that could happen to the West.
No markets: EU steel industry with 300,000 workers stands at the brink
Robert Conquest once observed that everyone is conservative about what they know best.
German industrial output again drops steeply, “another severe blow to the economy”
August saw the sharpest decline in German industrial production since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
EU risks ‘reigniting US trade tensions’ to save a steel industry ‘on verge of collapse’
The European Union is doubling tariffs on steel imports that exceed its new proposed lower quota.