Business ·
German insolvencies in July hit highest monthly level in 13 years
Courts recorded 2,373 company insolvencies in July, 8% more than a year earlier. Kahla is ending porcelain production and INVEHO is closing two freight-wagon workshops.
Total listed investments3.15EUR bn
Company insolvencies, July 2026 (vs year earlier)2,373 +8.00 %
New entries since 9 Oct morning (incl. catch-ups)4
Announced job cuts with a number (table)5,001
The Federal Statistical Office reported 2,373 company insolvencies for July on 9 October. That is 8.0% more than a year earlier and, according to dpa-AFX, the most in any month since July 2013. From January to July there were 15,185 (+6.9%). Transport and storage, hospitality and construction were hit hardest. The data lag: filings were often made about three months earlier.
New on Friday: the EU classed eight German raw-material projects as 'strategic', including lithium in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt and recycling at Aurubis. They are to get permits faster, within 27 months at most. No amounts or job figures were given. We found no new plants or groundbreakings with stated sums in Germany on 9 October.
Catch-up job cuts: Kahla (Thuringia) will end porcelain production by the end of October, affecting 96 staff. INVEHO is closing its freight-wagon workshops in Woffleben (Thuringia, 220 jobs) and Brandenburg an der Havel (about 80) at year-end. EEW is cutting about 100 of 1,000 jobs at its offshore foundation plant in Rostock.
The table's investment total stays at EUR 3.15bn. Announced job cuts with a number rise to 5,001 (previously 4,505).
| State / region | Company / project | Sector | Amount (EUR m) | Jobs (− = cuts) | Status / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, NRW, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Hamburg | EU – 8 German raw-material projects named 'strategic' (incl. Zinnwald Lithium, Neptune Energy – lithium; Aurubis – recycling) | Raw materials / recycling | – | – | NEW 9 Oct 2026: faster permits (max 27 months), easier access to capital; amounts and jobs not stated; 46 projects EU-wide |
| Thuringia (Kahla) | Porzellanmanufaktur Kahla – end of porcelain production in insolvency | Porcelain / ceramics | – | −96 | ADDED: announced 7 Oct 2026 (administrator Rolf Rombach); production until end-Oct 2026, operations until year-end |
| Thuringia (Woffleben) and Brandenburg (Brandenburg an der Havel) | INVEHO – closure of two freight-wagon workshops (220 + about 80 jobs) | Rail / maintenance | – | −300 | ADDED: reported 5–8 Oct 2026; closure on 31 Dec 2026; Altenburg site stays |
| Mecklenburg-W. Pomerania (Rostock) | EEW SPC – cuts at offshore-wind monopile plant (of about 1,000) | Wind power / steel | – | −100 | ADDED: reported 6 Oct 2026 (NDR, confirmed by company); by end-2026 |
| Baden-Württemberg (Neckarsulm) | Audi – 'bad-weather clause' triggered, new savings talks (plant with over 15,000 staff) | Cars | – | – | 8 Oct 2026: further cuts not quantified; up to 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029 already agreed; dismissal protection until end-2033 |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Leuna) | Aurora – new medical cannabis production hall, capacity doubled | Pharma | – | 10 | Opened 8 Oct 2026; investment in the mid single-digit millions (not in total); now 55 staff |
| Hesse (Sterbfritz, Sinntal municipality) | OPmobility – considering moving production of exterior body parts | Car parts supplier | – | −460 | Announced evening of 7 Oct 2026; about 460 jobs in Germany (+310 in France); not yet decided, talks with works council |
| Bavaria (Taufkirchen an der Vils) | Himolla – job cuts in self-administered insolvency (previously 714 jobs) | Furniture | – | −175 | Reported 6 Oct 2026; notices served end-Sep; about 540 jobs remain |
| Baden-Württemberg (Zuffenhausen, Weissach) and Saxony (Leipzig) | Porsche – 'Sportwagenschmiede ’35' strategy: workforce −25% in the medium term | Cars | – | – | 7 Oct 2026: −40% management posts; about 9,000 cuts already agreed; no absolute figure for new target |
| Thuringia (Erfurt) | Zalando – logistics centre closed (previously about 2,700 staff) | E-commerce / logistics | – | – | 7 Oct 2026: closed end-Sep 2026; about 1,700 registered as job seekers, job agency starts placement |
| Bavaria (Erlangen) | Siemens – Technology Campus for power electronics (EUR 500m) | Electrical / automation | 500 | – | Topping-out reported 7 Oct 2026; foundation stone Sep 2025; production by 2030; no job figure |
| North Rhine-Westphalia (Cologne) | Deutz – planned job cuts at main plant (according to insiders) | Engines / engineering | – | – | 6/7 Oct 2026: 130–200 jobs by end-2028, up to 300 in a worse case (Handelsblatt: up to 400); no comment |
| Saxony (Leipzig) | Covenant (US) – plant for 'Anthem' cruise missiles (about EUR 250m) | Defence | 250 | – | Opened 5 Oct 2026 in a rented hall; production from 2027; 'several hundred' jobs (dpa) |
| Schleswig-Holstein (Flensburg) | Semikron Danfoss – cuts in industrial unit, part of output moves to Slovakia | Power electronics | – | −90 | Reported 5 Oct 2026 (shz); timing open; auto unit (just under 400 staff) not affected |
| Lower Saxony (Mehrum, Peine district) | McCain – fries plant halted (up to EUR 1bn; up to 650 planned jobs) | Food | – | – | Halted 29 Sep 2026; not in the total; about EUR 60m aid pledged (federal 50, state 10) |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Rogätz) and Saxony (Leppersdorf) | Theo Müller – closure of Homann sauce plant and Sachsenmilch cheese dairy | Food / dairy | – | −320 | Announced 6 Oct 2026; Leppersdorf by 31 Dec 2026, Rogätz end-Sep 2027 (about 160 jobs each) |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Bitterfeld-Wolfen) | Verbio – chemical plant for rapeseed-based feedstocks (just under EUR 100m) | Chemicals / bio-based | 100 | 50 | Started 6 Oct 2026; up to 60,000 t a year; about 130 staff at the site |
| Hesse (Kassel) | Rheinmetall takes over Alstom locomotive plant (about 750 staff) | Defence / rail | – | – | Key terms agreed in principle 6 Oct 2026; details still open; price not disclosed; wheeled vehicles |
| Nationwide | VW/Cariad – restructuring of software unit (about 4,300 staff) | Cars / software | – | – | 6 Oct 2026: media report about 1,000 jobs to go; IG Metall and works council fear up to 1,600 affected |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Zerbst) | KmB Technologie – insolvency filing (185 staff according to IG Metall) | Car supplier | – | – | Filed early Oct 2026, Dessau-Roßlau court; IG Metall demands a future plan (6 Oct) |
| Thuringia (Erfurt) | X-Fab – 'Fab4Micro' chip fab (EUR 300–400m) | Semiconductors | 300 | 100 | Groundbreaking 5 Oct 2026; aid EUR 127.4m (federal 80.3 + state 47.1); production from end-2028 |
| Nationwide (HQ Düsseldorf, NRW) | Galeria – 4th insolvency filing (about 12,000 staff, 83 stores) | Retail | – | – | 5 Oct 2026: Düsseldorf court opens preliminary proceedings, administrator Frank Kebekus; stores open for now |
| Mecklenburg-W. Pomerania (Ueckermünde) | Breyden – iron foundry closure | Car supplier | – | −320 | Announced 3 Oct 2026; closure end-2026 |
| Saxony-Anhalt (Leuna) | Leuna-Polyamid – insolvency and shutdown | Chemicals | – | −440 | Proceedings opened 1 Oct 2026; most jobs end 31 Jan 2027 |
| Bavaria (Irlbach-Straßkirchen) | BMW – battery plant (Gen6) | Cars / batteries | 1,000 | 1,600 | Opened, series production reported 2 Oct 2026; jobs at full capacity |
| Bavaria (Munich, Dingolfing) | BMW – new 3 Series / i3 production (about half of EUR 2bn) | Cars | 1,000 | – | Announced 30 Sep 2026 |
| Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate | Biontech – closure of Tübingen, Marburg, Idar-Oberstein | Pharma | – | −1,800 | Announced 28 Sep 2026; closures 2027–2028 |
| Bavaria (Nuremberg) | Bosch Mobility – half of jobs cut | Car supplier | – | −900 | Announced 28 Sep 2026; by end-2029 |
| Indicator | vs prior month (%) | vs year earlier (%) | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company insolvencies, July 2026 (2,373; highest monthly figure since July 2013) – NEW | – | +8.0 % | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Consumer insolvencies, July 2026 (7,111) | – | −5.9 % | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Exports, August 2026 (EUR 137.6bn) | −0.8 % | +6.2 % | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Imports, August 2026 (EUR 118.1bn) | +0.9 % | +5.5 % | 8 Oct 2026 |
| – exports to the US (EUR 13.5bn) | −6.3 % | +22.6 % | 8 Oct 2026 |
| – imports from China (EUR 16.8bn) | +11.0 % | – | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Industrial production, total, August 2026 | +2.0 % | +2.3 % | 7 Oct 2026 |
| – construction, August 2026 | +9.3 % | – | 7 Oct 2026 |
| – car industry, August 2026 | −5.4 % | – | 7 Oct 2026 |
| – machinery, August 2026 | +5.3 % | – | 7 Oct 2026 |
| – energy-intensive industry, August 2026 | −0.5 % | −2.1 % | 7 Oct 2026 |
| Industrial production, July 2026 (revised) | −1.2 % | −1.8 % | 7 Oct 2026 |
| Industrial orders, August 2026 | −10.6 % | – | 6 Oct 2026 |
| State | September 2026 (%) | September 2025 (%) | Unemployed (thousand) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 6.4 | 6.3 | 2,994.0 |
| Bavaria | 4.2 | – | – |
| Baden-Württemberg | 4.7 | 4.7 | 306.1 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 7.9 | 7.8 | 792.7 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 8.0 | 7.8 | 88.0 |
| Berlin | 10.4 | 10.3 | 223.8 |
| Bremen | 11.2 | – | – |
For information only, not investment advice. Prices as of the time stated, not real-time quotes.
Sources
- Destatis – Unternehmensinsolvenzen im Juli 2026: +8,0 % gegenüber Juli 2025 (9.10.2026)
- finanzen.net/dpa-AFX – Überblick Konjunktur 9.10.2026, 17.00 Uhr
- finanzen.net/dpa-AFX – Überblick Unternehmen 9.10.2026, 15.15 Uhr
- onvista/dpa-AFX – EU-Kommission unterstützt acht deutsche Rohstoffprojekte (9.10.2026)
- electrive – EU wählt 46 neue Rohstoffprojekte aus (9.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – Kahla Porzellan stellt Betrieb zum Jahresende ein, knapp 100 Stellen (9.10.2026)
- Münster Aktuell – Kahla gibt Porzellanproduktion auf (7.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – INVEHO schließt Werkstätten Woffleben und Brandenburg, rund 300 Stellen (8.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – EEW streicht in Rostock rund 100 Stellen (6.10.2026, nach NDR)
- ARIVA/dpa-AFX – Stellenabbau in Neckarsulm? Audi zieht Schlechtwetterklausel (8.10.2026, 18.15 Uhr)
- Münster Aktuell – Audi stellt Beschäftigungsgarantie infrage (8.10.2026)
- Leuna-Echo – Aurora verdoppelt Produktion in Leuna (9.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – OPmobility erwägt Verlagerung aus Sterbfritz, rund 460 Stellen (8.10.2026)
- Münster Aktuell – OPmobility plant Abbau von rund 770 Stellen (7.10.2026)
- Münster Aktuell – Himolla baut 175 Stellen ab (6.10.2026)
- Destatis – Exporte im August 2026: −0,8 % zum Juli 2026 (8.10.2026)
- finanzen.net/dpa-AFX – Überblick Konjunktur 8.10.2026, 17.00 Uhr (Exporte, Wachstumsprognose 1,3 %)
- onvista/dpa-AFX – Überblick Unternehmen 8.10.2026, 15.15 Uhr
- Porsche Newsroom – Strategie bis 2035 / Capital Markets Day (7.10.2026)
- AUTOHAUS/dpa – Sportwagenschmiede ’35 (7.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – Porsche will ein Viertel der Belegschaft abbauen (7.10.2026)
- onvista/dpa-AFX – Nach dem Zalando-Aus in Erfurt startet die Jobvermittlung (7.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – Siemens Richtfest Erlangen, 500 Mio. Euro (8.10.2026, nach Nürnberger Nachrichten 7.10.)
- Wirtschaft und Industrie – Deutz streicht bis zu 300 Stellen (7.10.2026)
- onvista/dpa-AFX – Überblick Unternehmen 7.10.2026, 15.15 Uhr
- Nordbayerischer Kurier/dpa – US-Rüstungsunternehmen öffnet Standort in Leipzig (5.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – Covenant investiert 250 Mio. Euro in Leipzig (6.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – Semikron Danfoss Flensburg, rund 90 Stellen (6.10.2026, nach shz 5.10.)
- top agrar – McCain stoppt Pommesfabrik Mehrum (6.10.2026)
- Dr. Web – McCain Mehrum gestoppt (30.9.2026)
- Destatis – Produktion im August 2026: +2,0 % zum Vormonat (7.10.2026)
- ARIVA/dpa-AFX – Überblick Konjunktur 7.10.2026, 17.00 Uhr
- ARIVA/dpa-AFX – Reiche: Wachstum steht auf wackligen Beinen (7.10.2026)
- finanznachrichten/dpa-AFX – Theo Müller schließt Werke in Sachsen-Anhalt und Sachsen (6.10.2026)
- Handelsblatt – Theo Müller schließt zwei Werke (6.10.2026)
- ms-aktuell – Müller schließt Homann-Werk und Käserei (6.10.2026)
- onvista/dpa-AFX – Verbio startet neue Chemieanlage (6.10.2026)
- 320grad – Verbio Bitterfeld (6.10.2026)
- ariva/dpa-AFX – Rheinmetall übernimmt Kasseler Lokomotiv-Werk von Alstom (6.10.2026)
- finanzen.net/dpa-AFX – ROUNDUP: Deutz möchte Personal am Stammwerk abbauen (7.10.2026)
- Handelsblatt – Deutz baut laut Insidern bis zu 400 Stellen ab (6.10.2026)
- Wetterauer Zeitung – Cariad-Umbau betrifft 1600 Mitarbeiter (6.10.2026)
- ms-aktuell – VW ordnet Cariad neu (7.10.2026)
- IG Metall Halle-Dessau – Insolvenz bei KmB Technologie (6.10.2026)
- ms-aktuell – KmB Zerbst Insolvenz (6.10.2026)
- Volksstimme – KmB Technologie stellt Insolvenzantrag (1.10.2026)
- Destatis – Auftragseingang August 2026: -10,6 % (6.10.2026)
- finanzen.net/dpa-AFX – Überblick Unternehmen 6.10.2026, 15.15 Uhr
- ad-hoc-news – Fab4Micro: X-Fab investiert bis zu 400 Mio. Euro, Spatenstich (5.10.2026)
- Oiger – X-Fab baut Chipstandort Erfurt aus (5.10.2026)
- it-boltwise – X-Fab legt Grundstein in Erfurt (5.10.2026)
- ariva – Galeria-Insolvenzantrag vom Gericht zugelassen (5.10.2026)
- ms-aktuell – Galeria bekommt Insolvenzverwalter (5.10.2026)
- t-online – 320 Jobs weg: Autozulieferer macht Werk dicht (Breyden Ueckermünde, 5.10.2026)
- Handelsblatt – Galeria beantragt zum vierten Mal Insolvenz (2.10.2026)
- ZDFheute – Galeria Insolvenzantrag (2.10.2026)
- onvista/dpa-AFX – WDH/ROUNDUP 6: Galeria stellt abermals Insolvenzantrag (4.10.2026)
- onvista/dpa – Neue Chipfabrik in Thüringen (X-Fab Erfurt, 5.10.2026)
- ariva/dpa – IW: Osten holt wirtschaftlich nicht mehr auf (4.10.2026)
- t-online/dpa – X-Fab Chipfabrik Erfurt (4.10.2026)
- RNZ/dpa – X-Fab Erfurt (4.10.2026)
- Nordkurier – Eisengießerei Ueckermünde schließt (3.10.2026)
- ms-aktuell – Gießerei Ueckermünde (3.10.2026)
- Berliner Kurier – Leuna-Polyamid insolvent (2.10.2026)
- t-online – Leuna-Polyamid, Kosten für das Land (2.10.2026)
- BIAJ – Ländervergleich Arbeitslose September 2026
- Land Baden-Württemberg – Arbeitsmarkt September 2026 (30.9.2026)
- Supertipp/dpa – Arbeitslose NRW September 2026 (30.9.2026)
- Volksstimme/dpa – Sachsen-Anhalt September 2026
- Volksstimme/dpa – Berlin September 2026 (30.9.2026)
- electrive – BMW Batteriewerk Irlbach-Straßkirchen (2.10.2026)
- BMW Group PressClub – rund 2 Mrd. Euro für neuen 3er (30.9.2026)
- BMWBlog – Aufteilung 2 Mrd. Euro (30.9.2026)
- ZDFheute – Biontech schließt drei Werke (28.9.2026)
- inFranken – Bosch Nürnberg (28.9.2026)
- ZDFheute – Arbeitslosenzahlen September 2026 (30.9.2026)
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit – Arbeitsmarkt im September 2026
