Wholesale prices up 8.7% – Kiefel plans to cut a third of jobs in Freilassing

Data as of: As of 15 October 2026, 7:25 am

Thermoforming machine maker Kiefel, part of the Brückner Group, wants to cut about a third of jobs at its headquarters in Freilassing, Upper Bavaria. Staff were told on Tuesday, 13 October. According to Passauer Neue Presse about 130 employees are affected; Kiefel itself gives no figure. Production is to move closer to customers in Asia, and Freilassing will become a technology centre. The company plans to name concrete steps by the end of October; talks with the works council are under way.

In Konstanz, Körber Supply Chain Logistics is again considering closing production of letter and parcel sorting machines and moving it abroad, the Südkurier reports. About 450 people work at the site; there is no decision or job figure yet. Engineering association VDMA reported a better mood on Wednesday, but more than 30% of firms surveyed expect to cut jobs. Around 100,000 jobs in the sector in Germany have gone since 2019. On the positive side, InfectoPharm is expanding its logistics centre in Heppenheim (Hesse) by 40%, without naming an amount.

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Wednesday that wholesale prices in September were 8.7% higher than a year earlier and up 1.9% on August – the biggest rise since February 2023. Destatis cites the fighting in Iran and the Middle East, which drove up energy and metal prices: mineral oil products cost 48.8% more, non-ferrous metals 24.9%. In its autumn projection (8 October) the government expects 1.3% growth in 2026.

The table has three new entries, none with a firm amount or job figure. The totals are therefore unchanged: EUR 2.47bn of investment and 5,840 announced job cuts with a firm number. To keep the table at 25 rows, the oldest entries without a figure (Porsche, Deutz, VW/Cariad) were removed.