Saxony's mechanical engineering sector: upward trend halted

After three consecutive years of growth, Saxony's mechanical engineering companies lost momentum in 2024. Both total turnover and the number of employees declined, according to the German Engineering Federation East (VDMA) in Leipzig. The association expects a mixed result for this year. The VDMA referred to data from the State Statistical Office for companies with at least 50 employees.

Decline in turnover and number of employees

In the previous year, the 188 Saxon mechanical engineering companies of this size sold machines, systems, components and services worth 8.2 billion euros, according to the data. This is a drop in turnover of four percent compared to the previous year. The number of employees fell by 1.3 percent during this period.

Association calls for reform course to promote investment

An economic recovery overnight is an illusion, said Oliver Köhn, Managing Director of VDMA Ost. "A turnaround will only succeed with a reliable and well thought-out industrial policy at federal and state level". He called on the new federal government to swiftly introduce an investment-promoting reform course and thus pave the way for competitive framework conditions.

According to Köhn, however, companies also have a role to play. They could reduce their costs with the help of automated production processes and break into new foreign markets by adapting machines to local customer requirements.