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More German business mull relocation due to high energy rates - survey

High energy prices and a lack of dependable energy supplies are hindering German companies' production and financial investments, with a growing trend of industrial firms considering moving abroad, a study revealed on Thursday.

Germany's commercial companies have been suffering from a. contraction in financial activity in the after-effects of Russia's. invasion of Ukraine, with the ensuing slump in Russian energy. imports triggering sharp energy price rallies in 2022.

Prices have considering that fallen but are still high compared to. other countries.

A poll by Germany's DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce. of around 3,300 business revealed that 37% were considering. cutting production or emigrating, up from 31% in 2015 and. 16% in 2022.

For energy-intensive industrial companies some 45% of companies. were mulling slashing output or relocation, the survey revealed.

The trust of the German economy in energy policy is. significantly damaged, Achim Dercks, DIHK deputy president. stated, adding that the government had actually not prospered in providing. companies with a perspective for reputable and inexpensive energy. supply.

Those who fail to recognise this will eventually witness. the deindustrialization of our nation, he said.

More than a third of industrial companies in Germany are. reducing investment in core processes due to high energy costs,. the study showed, adding that two-thirds of commercial companies. saw their competitiveness at risk.

Dercks said Berlin's package presented last month to. reinforce the nation as a commercial area did not go far. enough, including that services for energy supply and rates were. left out.

For numerous industrial companies, however, this is presently. the definitive place concern, he included.

Germany's economy ministry in 2015 proposed an aid for. commercial electrical energy prices but the proposal was challenged by. the finance ministry and then totally scrapped after a. constitutional court judgment required the union to make agonizing. cuts to its 2024 budget.

Energy self-supply through direct wind energy agreements and. access to hydrogen have become progressively important for. companies, DIHK stated, adding that taxes and electricity fees. should be decreased.

Recent federal government procedures to reduce bureaucracy have not. yet made a noticeable impact, DIHK said. Two thirds of companies. called for predictability.

With costs pressure and output drop, a quarter of business. are also scaling back environment defense financial investments, with. business sentiment towards energy shift registering its. second worst worth in the history of the survey, DIHK stated.

While in the years before 2023 lots of business also saw. opportunities in the energy shift for their own operations,. in their view the risks have recently clearly outweighed the. benefits, Dercks stated.

(source: Reuters)