Thousands laid off across Europe: Is the recession turning into a crisis?

Economic stagnation and geopolitical tensions across Europe have forced companies to reduce their workforces. Layoffs have increased in many sectors, from automotive to banking, and from engineering to retail. Millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the European Union in recent years. According to experts, this situation is expected to worsen.

In Germany, giant engineering firms like Siemens have decided to lay off more than 6 thousand people by 2027. In the automotive sector, brands such as the Volkswagen Group, Audi, and Porsche have announced plans to part ways with thousands of employees. Audi reported that it would lay off 7 thousand 500 people in Germany by 2029.

There is a similar picture in the banking sector. Commerzbank announced that it would lay off 3 thousand 900 people by 2028. Deutsche Bank noted that it would lay off 2 thousand people this year.

In the retail sector, major firms like Puma and Tesco have decided to lay off thousands of employees as part of cost-cutting programs. Puma stated that it would lay off 500 people worldwide.

Layoffs are not slowing down in other sectors either. While BioNTech plans to cut between 950 and 1350 positions by 2027, DHL aims to lay off 8 thousand people in Germany.

Unions are calling for a moratorium on mandatory layoffs and demanding that measures be taken against the employment crisis.