The Germans are on a steep uphill climb trying to figure all their s*** out. On the chopping block today is Germany’s automotive and industrial sectors (with Volkswagen being our guinea pig).
VW is struggling for several reasons…and no, it’s not because hot-boxing it in the Scooby-doo vans has gone out of fashion. VW could blame increasing energy costs, competition from China, or electric vehicle challenges…they could even blame it on my favorite scape goat – demographics. Germany has a shrinking workforce which makes things more expensive, but global car demand is also shrinking, so it’s a double whammy. A combination of all these factors has made doing just about anything in Germany hopeless.
This isn’t just a Volkswagen issue though; these are problems that plague the entire German system and infect everything within it. Without some serious change, the flocks of skilled German workers emigrating will only grow.