Seventeen executives from major German companies including Siemens, Audi, BMW, Porsche and ZF have signed an open letter demanding rapid social security reforms, urging Chancellor Friedrich Merz to honour his promises roughly 15 months into his term. The letter calls for cutting the share of social contributions in labour costs from 42 percent to 40 percent.
Merz is set to press his cabinet next week to accelerate reforms covering taxes, pensions, deregulation and digitalisation at a retreat in Neuhardenberg, stating the priority was rapid relief for the economy, particularly small and medium-sized firms. Chancellery Minister Nina Warken insisted there was no substantive disagreement between the government and business leaders.
The pressure comes as the Ifo Institute found 23.2 percent of German companies are suffering from a skilled labour shortage, up more than two percentage points since April.