Munich (dpa/lby) - Every sixth company in the Bavarian metal and electrical industry feels its existence threatened by the current economic environment. That is the result of a survey of 340 companies published on Monday by the metal and electrical employers' associations bayme and vbm.
"The economic environment is currently being weighed down primarily by the Russia-Ukraine war and China's zero-Covid policy," said CEO Bertram Brossardt. Four out of five companies expect a drop in profits this year, he stressed. Every third resort to short-time work.
In response to the current situation, 62 percent of companies want to further diversify their supply chains. 57 percent want to reduce or postpone investments, 22 percent want to reduce spending on research and development. For 13 percent of the companies, a reduction in staff is in the room.
"The current problems are directly endangering the future viability of our industry," Brossardt warned. "If research and development are not being carried out right now in the transformation phase, this will weaken competitiveness in the medium term. We must not allow ourselves to fall behind internationally, because the competition never sleeps."
The next wage round is pending in the metal and electrical industry. In this context, the Metallurgical Union recently assessed the situation of the companies much more positively and spoke of "good earnings in the majority of companies" and "big profits".
