Metal industry sentiment weak in Germany despite order rise

Defence contracts boosted orders in Germany's metal and electrical sector in the final quarter of 2025, though sentiment remains extremely poor, employers' association Gesamtmetall said on Saturday.

"For the metal and electrical engineering industry, the engine of prosperity for our country, last year was a terrible year," chief executive Oliver Zander said.

"We are losing almost 10,000 jobs a month," he added.

The association said the sector is now in its second consecutive year of recession. Excluding the largely state-funded defence contracts, the order situation remains depressed.

According to the association, around 3.8 million people were employed in the metal and electrical engineering industry in November. That was 102,600 jobs, or 2.6%, fewer than a year earlier. Turnover stagnated, rising by just 0.6%, while sales volumes fell by 0.8% year on year.

Conditions improved slightly only in the final quarter, with production rising by 2.1% in the last three months of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier.

However, output is expected to fall again this year by between 0.5% and 1.5%, alongside the loss of a further 100,000 to 150,000 jobs, Zander said.