For decades, Germany was a magnet for companies!
Where the seal of quality “Made in Germany” was on it, quality was inside. But that has changed: More and more companies are relocating their factories or research abroad – or leaving altogether.
The latest example: the German corona giant Biontech! The globally admired company moves its cancer research from Mainz to Great Britain.
Reason for the move: the lame German bureaucracy. Drug development is faster in England because authorities and companies work closely together, Biontech expects. Founder Özlem Türeci (55) on BILD: “In research and development, BioNTech relies on the strengths of the respective countries. In the future, it will be crucial to create contemporary and mission-driven framework conditions in various areas.”
This applies “among other things to the funding of research and its faster translation into application, the promotion of biotech ecosystems in Europe and the corresponding regulations and guidelines,” says Türeci.
Fear of falling in Germany! Because more and more people are doing it like Biontech.
► Medical giant Bayer wants to relocate its pharmaceutical business to China and the USA. Reason: Europe is “innovation-unfriendly”.
► Chemical giant BASF is building a new plant in southern China’s Zhanjiang (partly because energy is cheaper there). Consequence: At the Ludwigshafen site, 39,000 employees are threatened with being thrown out!
Reasons for migration according to business associations: too many regulations (bureaucracy), too high energy costs, social security contributions.
Biontech-Chef “My parents got up at 4:30 every day”
A study by the “Foundation for Family Businesses” shows how unattractive Germany has become. After that, Germany dropped to 18th place in 2022 (out of 21 countries). A disaster!
On Monday the next bad news: The state-owned KfW Bank warns of another crash. “The foundation for further growth in prosperity is crumbling,” according to the study. Because companies are lacking more and more skilled workers. By 2032 it might be up to 5 million (Institute IW).
KfW chief economist Fritzi Köhler-Geib warns of a “unique challenge”. Germany needs, among other things, more immigration and better education.