The €650 Billion Exodus at the Heart of Germany’s Political Turmoil
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious coalition struggled to stem a massive capital drain, which threatens to accelerate after Donald Trump’s re-election.The Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany. The carmaker plans unprecedented factory closures in Germany, while operations in China remain insulated.
Photographer: Iona Dutz/Bloomberg
By William Wilkes and Alexander Weber
7 November 2024 at 2:51 PM SGT
Updated on
7 November 2024 at 5:00 PM SGT
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Looming large in the hours between Donald Trump’s election victory and the late-night collapse of Germany’s government is a crisis of competitiveness that has sapped life from Europe’s largest economy.
Companies including chemicals giant BASF SE, auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG and home-appliance maker Miele & Cie. KG have shifted resources outside their homeland, leading to a net outflow of capital of more than €650 billion ($700 billion) since 2010, according to figures from the Bundesbank. Almost 40% of that has taken place since 2021, when Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious coalition was voted into power.