BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Orders are slumping, and at the same time everything is getting more expensive: Several companies are having to pay more attention to their costs and are also putting their personnel planning to the test. For the metal and electrical industry, for example, the president of the employers' association Gesamtmetall, Stefan Wolf, expects job cuts. "The poor order situation is one reason for this. Another is that it is now much more attractive for more and more companies to relocate production abroad," Wolf told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The German economy is running into a "real problem situation," the industry representative said. "German industry is receiving far too few new orders - and not just from mechanical engineers, but also in other key industries such as automotive and chemicals. We are sliding into a recession, and I don't see how that will change in 2024 under the current circumstances."

At automaker Volkswagen, for example, numerous jobs are to be cut at the electric car factory in Zwickau. Oil and gas company Wintershall Dea plans to cut hundreds of jobs, with a focus on Germany, and reduce the size of its board as part of a cost-cutting program.

Another example is the telecommunications sector. Deutsche Telekom wants to focus on fiber-optic expansion and also cut costs for personnel. It is not yet clear how many jobs will be affected in total, a spokesman for the Bonn-based group said at the weekend when asked. Previously, the Handelsblatt had reported. The Group said that many things had changed, partly as a result of technological advances - the last major restructuring of this kind was ten years ago in some cases.

At the internal IT service provider Telekom IT, 1300 of the 5400 jobs based in Germany are to be cut, the company confirmed. In addition, around 350 employees would leave the company in the coming months for early retirement or partial retirement.

The Vodafone Group had also recently imposed a cost-cutting course, affecting more than a thousand full-time positions in Germany alone

- mainly in administration, and therefore largely at the Düsseldorf

Germany headquarters.

According to the Ifo Institute, the trend toward cost-cutting is also making itself felt in new hires. "The willingness of companies in Germany to hire has been dampened," the Munich-based economic researchers recently said. The Ifo Employment Barometer fell in September to its lowest level since February 2021. "The robust buildup in employment of recent months has come to a standstill," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of Ifo surveys. "Due to a lack of orders, vacant positions are being filled rather cautiously."

Nevertheless, demand for labor in Germany remains very high, with a shortage of skilled workers in many places. The Federal Employment Agency reported the number of vacancies at 761,000 in September. However, demand is easing slightly.

Gesamtmetall President Wolf believes Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has a responsibility. "I appreciate the chancellor, but he is not leading. A chancellor has to call a spade a spade, swear his coalition partners to a common goal and then implement slogans. I find that extremely lacking in this government," he said./swe/DP/he