The claim
Rumors are circulating on the Internet about mass layoffs at major German corporations.
Our conclusion
A close fact check shows that most of these numbers are outdated, taken out of context or completely fictional. The companies themselves have denied the claims.
German corporations and the rumors about mass layoffs
“Telekom is laying off 15,000 employees, Siemens 7,000, Opel 4,000, VW 30,000, Dt. Bank 7,000 etc. And Germany is crying out for foreign skilled workers!?” – says the text of a sharepic on Facebook :
This sharepic has been circulating in various versions for at least four years :
Close investigation of these claims is necessary to determine the truth and correct misinformation.
Deutsche Telekom: The reality behind the numbers
There is no substantiated evidence to support the claim that Deutsche Telekom laid off 15,000 employees. In 2016, there were reports of company restructuring , said to affect 15,000 employees, but not related to layoffs.
In October 2023, there were media reports about savings plans and job cuts at Telekom, which are said to affect around 2,000 jobs.
Siemens: A look into the past
Siemens announced that it would cut around 7,000 jobs , around half of them in Germany. This number was also mentioned in a report from 2021 , but related to the spin-off of the large drive business and affected around 2,000 jobs in Germany.
Opel: The situation in context
In 2018, it was reported that Opel would see more than 4,000 employees leave the company by 2020, mainly through severance pay and early retirement schemes. According to “Wirtschaftswoche”, there should in , but again as part of volunteer programs.
Volkswagen: rumors and reality
There have been repeated speculations about cutting The group denied this figure in October 2021. In May 2023, IG Metall job security until 2029. Rumors of job cuts were based primarily on the company's savings goals.
Deutsche Bank: Global perspective
In 2018, Deutsche Bank announced that it would cut 7,000 jobs worldwide in order to avoid redundancies. This plan was not specific to Germany.
Conclusion – German corporations are not planning mass layoffs
A detailed review of the rumors circulating on the Internet shows that most reports of mass layoffs at major German corporations are either outdated, taken out of context or simply made up. – Like speakers from Telekom, Siemens, Opel, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank confirmed to the DPA in December 2023 that the alleged numbers were “wrong” or “fictitious”.
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Source: DPA
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )