China has been blamed for the loss of half a million German factory jobs since 2019, as experts have warned that Europe’s manufacturing engine is losing momentum.
German industry shed 496,000 jobs between 2019 and 2025, according to the Ifo Institute in Dresden, representing a drop of 7.1pc.
Joachim Ragnitz, the managing director at Ifo Dresden, said: “Employment is shrinking in almost all industrial sectors, which is likely a result of declining competitiveness, particularly vis-à-vis China.
