Data for the first three quarters of 2025 have shown that smaller German firms have borne the brunt of almost three years of economic downturn in Europe’s biggest economy over the past three years.
On December 12, the chief analyst at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Volker Treier, told news agency Reuters that the “wave of insolvencies continues.” He added that small and medium-sized enterprises in particular were “running into difficulties.”
In a recent survey, DIHK found that nearly one in three companies with fewer than 20 employees expects its business situation to worsen. Such firms account for roughly 85% of all businesses in Germany.
Official figures confirm the trend, with Germany’s…