Germany's industrial sector lost 177,000 jobs last year, according to figures released Wednesday by the Federal Employment Agency, underscoring the strains weighing on Europe's largest economy.
The manufacturing sector employed 6.5 million people as of December 2025, roughly one-fifth of the national workforce. Overall employment across all sectors of the economy fell by 108,000, indicating that manufacturing bore the brunt of the decline. The automotive industry and its suppliers alone accounted for 52,000 lost jobs, with a further 24,000 cut in the wider metal industry and 28,000 in mechanical engineering.
The pace of losses has been accelerating. Agency director Andrea Nahles said in late June that 15,000 manufacturing jobs were disappearing each month. Cumulative losses over the 12 months through June had already reached 174,000 before the year-end tally climbed higher.