IHK draws a sobering balance and is disappointed with the federal government

The Dresden Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) has given a sobering assessment of economic development in the Free State and given the federal government poor marks. "We expected more. So the autumn of reforms was an autumn, but there was no sign of the reforms," said IHK President Andreas Sperl. The disappointment among the member companies was great.

IHK complains about the regulatory frenzy of politicians and the public administration

They would have liked to see a real sign and "not just arguing and talking, to put it mildly", said Sperl. For example, he would have liked to see concrete measures in terms of a "lean state". "The regulatory frenzy of politics and public administration should have been limited."

"The federal government could have focused more on the personal responsibility of entrepreneurs," said Sperl. That would have had an eye-opening effect. "Of course, I am also aware that many other legislative projects cannot be implemented overnight. But there would certainly have been opportunities to significantly improve the mood in the business community."

No relief on energy costs

According to IHK Managing Director Lukas Rohleder, it would have been advisable to bring forward the corporate tax reform rather than postpone it. No real relief could be seen in energy costs either. The reduction through the industrial electricity price does not reach companies because the conditions are too cumbersome. If the money saved has to be reinvested, this is the wrong approach.

For the first ten months of this year, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce reported a slight decline in turnover of 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year. The decline in the number of employees was even more pronounced at 2.5 percent. The number of unemployed in Saxony was around 146,000 in November, which is around 7,400 more than a year ago. At the same time, the number of registered jobs fell in comparison to November 2024.

IHK sees critical situation for many companies

"Stagnating sales at home and abroad combined with rising costs, below-average utilization of production capacities and a negative trend for incoming orders. The situation for many companies - and by no means just in the manufacturing industry - is critical," concluded Sperl. Companies are still suffering from high energy and labor costs as well as a high bureaucratic burden.

According to Sperl, the number of company insolvencies up to November (979) has already exceeded the entire previous year (867). These statistics do not even include those companies that have given up due to a lack of successors. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find investors to take over insolvent businesses. If the insolvency administrator used to negotiate with three or four interested parties, today he would be lucky to find one.