欧洲

2026-01-15 Germany’s economy is so bad even sausage factories are closing

Germany’s economy, the third-biggest in the world by nominal GDP, has been stagnant for three years, and factory closures and insolvencies are reaching worrying levels. On January 8th Zalando, a big German online fashion retailer, said it would close a logistics centre that employs 2,700 workers in Erfurt, also in eastern Germany. Preliminary figures from Destatis, the German statistics agency, show insolvencies in December rose by 15% compared with the same month in 2024. The transport, hospitality and construction sectors were especially strongly affected. Last year’s annual total of more than 17,600 company insolvencies was the highest in 20 years, according to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle.

Last year they included some of the country’s biggest names: Goertz (shoes), Gerry Weber and Esprit (fashion), Groschenmarkt (discount retail), Karrie Bau (construction) and Zoo Zajac (the world’s largest pet store).

No more: export-oriented industries are especially vulnerable to global conflict, tariffs and high energy prices. The country’s entire economic model is ill-suited to new realities. Until it adjusts, even sausage makers will find themselves on the chopping block.