German industry is shedding around 15,000 jobs a month, BDI Chief Tanja Gönner told dpa, calling the state of the sector "critical."
She warned that Germany has lost its competitive edge under the combined pressure of US tariffs, Chinese market distortions, and heavy domestic costs.
Manufacturing employment is now at a 10-year low, with 174,000 industrial jobs lost in the past year and two-thirds of short-time work notifications coming from industry.