German business demands CDU and SPD coalition talks focus more on economy
Representatives of more than 60 German business associations have signed a joint letter to the leadership of the German Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU)…
Industrial policy
Latest reporting and analysis on industrial policy.
Blast hits Czech defence group STV facility, police say technical defect likely cause
An explosion hit a facility of Czech defence group STV on Tuesday, officials said, with police saying the blast was likely caused by a technical defect in a production…
Commission excludes UK arms manufacturers from EU defence fund but not Ukraine
The European Commission has shut out defence companies from the UK and other third countries from the European Union’s common defence fund.
Aiming for competitiveness at core of European Council meeting
Almost every topic at the European Council on March 20 came down to one thing: competitiveness.
Losses for German automotive supplier ZF top €1bn
German automotive supplier ZF has endured a brutal 2024 and reported yearly losses of more than €1 billion.
EU labour costs rise amid persistent competitiveness hurdles
Labour costs in the European Union have continued a steady climb, adding pressure to an economy already grappling with sluggish growth and global uncertainty.
Commission unveils defence plans to reduce reliance on US for security
The European Commission has presented its plans making clear that the European Union does not want to continue relying on the US for its security and must build…
Industrial carnage: German giant Siemens to shed more than 6,000 jobs
Siemens, one of Germany’s biggest industrial conglomerates, has announced a tough cost-cutting programme that would see 5,600 jobs disappear in its Digital Industries…
Rheinmetall mulls converting German VW facility into military vehicle production site
German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall has announced plans to convert a Volkswagen car factory in Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) into a production facility for armoured…
Belgian defence minister eyes Brussels-based Audi factory as military production site
Belgium’s recently closed Audi Brussels factory could soon be transformed into a military defence production site, the country's Minister of Defence Theo Francken…
‘France negotiating Ukrainian minerals deal,’ says defence minister Lecornu
French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu has confirmed Paris was in talks with Ukraine over access to key raw materials, particularly for military use amid growing…
Industry chiefs deride EC’s Clean Industrial Deal plan
Industry leaders have poured scorn on the European Commission's Clean Industrial Deal proposal, designed to reinforce European industry and cut energy prices while…
European Commission drops ‘green’ bias in new EU agriculture programme
In the presentation of its new vision for European Union agriculture and food, the European Commission has announced a notable course correction.
German new residential building permits drop to 14-year-low
The number of new building permits in Germany for apartments has dropped by 17 per cent to the lowest level since 2010 - in what was described as “a balance sheet…
Porsche plans to cut additional 1,900 jobs by 2029
Carmaker Porsche plans to cut an additional 1,900 jobs across the entire company over the next four years after a programme that has already started was determined…
Industry chief contradicts Scholz: ‘German deindustrialisation is real’
Nicole Grünewald, president of the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Köln), has dismissed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's remarks about the state of…
German-French firm to turn train factory into tank factory in Eastern Germany
The German-French defence group KNDS has acquired a factory for train wagons in Eastern Germany and will turn it into a production facility for battle tanks and…
Europe’s biggest motorbike manufacturer may move production to Asia
KTM, Europe’s biggest manufacturer of motorcycles by sales, is mulling moving a large part of its production capacity to either India or China, according to company…
Northvolt asks shareholders for $1.3 billion for next two years, sources say
Northvolt asked more than 100 shareholders at a meeting this month to provide $1.29 billion (€1.
Eurozone’s third-straight inflation rise ‘reveals faltering economy’
Eurozone inflation has hit 2.4 per cent on an annual basis in its third straight increase.
Mass exodus of companies shows Germany is ‘bankrupt’
The mass exodus of companies from Germany has shown the country was now effectively "bankrupt", the head of an industry organisation has said.
German chemicals giant Evonik says 7,000 jobs on the line
A major restructuring and cost-cutting operation at Evonik, a publicly-listed German specialty chemicals company, could reduce its workforce by one-fifth.
Bosch, ‘absolutely unbearable,’ to cut up to 10,000 jobs as German economy slows
German industrial giant Bosch will lay off thousands more employees than it had already announced, it said on December 11.
Economic expert dismantles EU’s industrial policy of ‘picking winners and losers’
Jonas Grafström, an economic researcher and visiting fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, has written a highly critical report on the European Union's…
High-born French and low-born Italians against Chinese Commies: car wars
European car companies are locked in an increasingly bitter struggle to maintain profits and market share amid a secular downturn in sales of internal combustion…
Airbus to cut more than 2,000 jobs across Europe, including almost 700 in Germany
Airbus has announced it is cutting more than 2,000 jobs across Europe within its Defence and Space division, citing economic challenges and intensifying competition…
Germany to see weakest growth of all industrialised countries in 2025, says OECD
Germany, traditionally the engine of the European economy, will have the weakest growth of all industrialised countries in 2025, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation…
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares abruptly quits as sales falter
Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares resigned abruptly on Sunday, two months after a profit warning at the maker of Jeep, Fiat and Peugeot cars that has lost…
Steel giant ArcelorMittal backs out of ‘green’ projects with industry’s future at risk
Luxembourg-based multinational steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal said it was delaying big investment programmes in Europe, citing uncertainties over European Union…
Automotive supplier Bosch plans to cut 5,550 jobs, most in Germany
In a new blow for the struggling German car industry, auto parts supplier Bosch has said it wanted to cut more jobs than previously indicated in May, when the company…