Swiss automotive supplier Feintool announced on Tuesday that it will close its plant in Sachsenheim, Baden-Württemberg, and relocate to Hungary instead.
The company has explained that the move is due to “the current general conditions in Germany, the economic slowdown of the industrial business and the political uncertainties related to electromobility and the energy transition.” Feintool expects to have to lay off 200 people and hopes to save some €16 million a year.
The unprofitable site near Stuttgart will be permanently closed, with most of the production transferred to Tokod, Hungary, reports the Berliner Zeitung.
Layoffs have plagued German companies for months as the economy staggers into recession. The IG Metall metalworkers’ union rang the alarm when Volkswagon announced it would have to close several plants and cut tens of thousands of jobs, with some departments being transferred abroad.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tried to intervene, stating that management decisions should not fall on employees and that jobs must be preserved. But in the face of plummeting industrial orders, companies are being forced to cut.
The reality has led to Fabio Panetta, governor of the Bank of Italy and member of the European Central Bank (ECB) board, calling Germany “the sick man of Europe.”
Just recently, Ryanair announced major flight reductions out of Germany due to high airport taxes and dysfunctional operations, which may prompt a move of said flights to Hungary’s Budapest airport. CEO Michael O’Leary slammed Germany as being run by idiots.
