俄罗斯抵制之后，德国的去工业化比以往任何时候都更加接近

俄罗斯抵制之后，德国的去工业化比以往任何时候都更加接近

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/germany-s-deindustrialization-closer-than-ever-after-Russia

作者：Al Mayadeen 英语 2024 年 2 月 11 日

15% 的德国企业陷入困境且资产负债表疲软，为欧洲最高。

2023 年 9 月 7 日星期四，德国特种化学品公司赢创工业的燃煤发电站在德国马尔的马尔化学园区投入运营（美联社）

由于德国制造商一直在努力维持具有成本竞争力的产品，乌克兰战争导致俄罗斯廉价天然气的流失对德国来说是“最后一击”。 彭博新闻昨天宣布，该国作为工业超级大国的统治似乎“即将结束”。

大多数俄罗斯进口产品在 2022 年遭到抵制，作为一种“惩罚”，这使得德国自 2017 年以来本已下降的工业产出进一步下滑。 彭博社称，彭博社宣布百年工厂正在关闭，其他公司正在将生产线转移到成本更加友好的国家。

首席执行官、酋长和政府官员对此表示担忧

机械制造商 GEA Group AG 首席执行官 Stefan Kelbert 表示：“说实话，希望不大，”并担忧地补充道，“我真的不确定我们能否阻止这一趋势。 许多事情必须很快改变。”

德国工业联合会去年9月发布的一项调查显示，投资转向海外的首要原因是对能源安全和能源成本的担忧。

欧洲最大的化学品生产商巴斯夫公司和朗盛公司正在解雇数千名员工，因为化学品制造商是受俄罗斯天然气抵制影响最严重的制造商之一。 法国轮胎制造商米其林和美国竞争对手固特异也正在关闭或缩小其德国工厂的规模。

米其林区域负责人玛丽亚·罗特格(Maria Rottger)告诉彭博社，这是由于成本极高，她解释说：“尽管我们员工有积极性，但我们已经到了无法以有竞争力的价格从德国出口卡车轮胎的地步。如果德国可以的话 如果不能在国际环境中具有竞争力的出口，该国就会失去其最大的优势之一。”

德国财政部长克里斯蒂安·林德纳在本月早些时候的彭博会议上表示，“我们不再具有竞争力”，并补充道，“我们变得越来越穷，因为我们没有增长。 我们正在落后”，凸显了危机的严重性。

俄罗斯、中国和粗心的政府

俄罗斯总统普京去年12月表示，西方国家与俄罗斯作对，试图让俄罗斯垮台，这是在“装傻”，因为这只会伤害本国人民，而不是通过经济合作使他们受益。 他强调，德国领导人在美国的压力下“愚蠢地伤害”了自己的经济，并“默默地接受了北溪管道爆炸事件”，他认为中央情报局是幕后黑手。

德国经济去年第四季度出现萎缩，咨询公司 Alvarez & Marsal 的一项研究显示，15% 的德国企业因资产负债表疲软而陷入“困境”，这一比例位居欧洲之首。 该公司补充说，去年这一比率为 9%。

彭博社表示，德国制造商将德国基础设施落后、劳动力老龄化、官僚主义繁文缛节、教育体系恶化以及来自中国的竞争加剧列为导致其消亡的其他原因。

德国工商会对外贸易负责人沃尔克·特雷尔 (Volker Treir) 表示：“你不必悲观地说我们目前所做的还不够，”他补充道，“ 结构性变化令人眼花缭乱。”

Germany's deindustrialization closer than ever after Russia boycott

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/germany-s-deindustrialization-closer-than-ever-after-russia

By Al Mayadeen English  11 Feb 2024 

15% of German companies, the highest in Europe, are in distress and have weak balance sheets.

A coal-fired power station of German specialty chemicals company Evonik Industries is in operation at the Marl Chemical Park in Marl, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (AP)

As German manufacturers have been struggling to maintain cost-competitive products, the loss of cheap Russian natural gas due to the war in Ukraine has served as a "final blow" for Germany.  The country's reign as an industrial superpower seems to be “coming to an end," Bloomberg News announced yesterday.

Most Russian imports were boycotted in 2022 as a "punishment", which pushed Germany's already declining industrial output since 2017 further down the line. Bloomberg announced that century-old factories are closing and other companies are moving production lines to more cost-friendly countries, Bloomberg said.

CEOs, Chiefs, and government officials are concerned

CEO at GEA Group AG, machinery producer, Stefan Kelbert, stated, “There’s not a lot of hope if I’m honest,” adding, with concern, “I am really uncertain that we can halt this trend. Many things would have to change very quickly.”

The Federation of German Industries previously released a survey last September revealing that the top reasons for shifting investment abroad are concerns over energy security and energy costs.

BASF SE, Europe’s biggest chemical producer, and Lanxess AG are letting go of thousands of employees as chemical makers were among the manufacturers affected the most by the boycotting of Russian gas. French tiremaker Michelin and US rival Goodyear are also closing or downsizing their German plants.

Regional Chief of Michelin Maria Rottger informed Bloomberg that this is due to the extremely high costs explaining that "despite the motivation of our employees, we have arrived at a point where we can’t export truck tires from Germany at competitive prices. If Germany can’t export competitively in the international context, the country loses one of its biggest strengths."

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner stated at a Bloomberg conference earlier this month, “We are no longer competitive,” adding, “We are getting poorer because we have no growth. We are falling behind,” highlighting the severity of the crisis.

Russia, China, and a careless government 

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in December that Western nations are “playing the fool” by standing against Russia in an attempt for its fall as this only hurts their own people, rather than benefiting them through economic cooperation. He stressed that German leaders are "foolishly hurting" their own economy under US pressure and "silently accepting the bombings of the Nord Stream pipelines," which he believes the CIA is behind. 

The German economy shrank in last year’s fourth quarter as a study by consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal showed that 15% of German companies, the highest in Europe, are in “distress” having weak balance sheets. The firm added that this rate was 9% last year. 

Bloomberg said German manufacturers listed the country's deterring infrastructure, aging workforce, bureaucratic red tape, worsening education system, and increased competition from China as other reasons leading to their demise. 

Foreign Trade Chief at the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Volker Treir, said, “You don’t have to be a pessimist to say that what we’re doing at the moment won’t be enough,” adding, “The speed of structural change is dizzying.”