According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), employment in the country's automotive manufacturing sector has fallen to a more than 20-year low. At the end of June, 691,500 people were employed in the industry, the lowest figure since 2005. Over the past 12 months, the sector lost 42,300 jobs, or 5.8% of total employment.
The automotive industry remains the second-largest employer in Germany, behind only mechanical engineering, which employs over 900,000 people.
Major German automakers, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes, have downgraded their annual forecasts in recent weeks due to weak sales in China. In particular, Volkswagen is considering cutting 100,000 jobs and closing several plants.
