Kuno Neumeier with a Fiery Appeal for Germany as a Business Location

“The German economy is shrinking. Just recently, the federal government had to significantly revise the growth forecast for this year downwards – from 1.1 percent to just 0.3 percent real GDP growth. Almost every third industrial company in Germany is already relocating its research and development activities abroad or is at least considering it.^[1] But even as a production location, Germany is no longer the first choice.

(Munich) Kuno Neumeier, CEO of Logivest GmbH, which specializes in sales and the mediation of logistics properties, made a fiery appeal for Germany as a business location:

“Made in Germany” is threatened by high energy and personnel costs, strict regulations, and rigid bureaucracy. Effects that are increasingly reflected in the logistics real estate market. At the end of January, over 100 associations and companies joined forces to draw attention to the precarious situation in their own country as part of the Economic Warning Day. The political response to this: rather reserved.

 

And this, despite the fact that with Donald Trump now – not entirely unexpectedly – another “disturbance factor” has taken the stage. While he threatens Europe with import tariffs, he is trying to lure companies to the USA through tax breaks. Export-driven industries such as machinery, automotive, or pharmaceuticals are coming under massive pressure as a result.

Joint Strategy

To counter this, we need a joint strategy. And I am not just talking about Germany – although the necessity of reducing bureaucracy in this country is absolutely undisputed – but about a clear line across Europe. The former CEO of Siemens, Joe Kaeser, has put it absolutely to the point in my view. After the World Economic Forum in Davos, he summarized that Europe is indeed determined to do the right things, but it lacks focus, implementation, and above all, speed. What is needed is a clear strategy to lead “Company Europe” – a MEGA project: Make Europe Great Again!

Economic Turnaround is Urgent

Germany urgently needs an economic turnaround! But to assert ourselves against the growing competition from Asia and also the USA – and thus to strengthen the domestic economy again – we need not lone warriors, but a united Europe!”

^[1] Survey commissioned by the Federation of German Industries, November/December 2024

Photo: © Logivest