For the first time, more owners of German small and mid‑sized businesses intend to shut down their operations than to arrange a proper succession. That finding, published on 18 July 2026 by the Portal der Wirtschaft, marks a structural shift in a sector that has long been the backbone of the country’s economy. In the state of Rhineland‑Palatinate alone, roughly 9,000 companies now face a generational handover, according to figures from the Koblenz Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Institutions are trying to reverse the trend with unconventional formats. One such initiative, dubbed the “Nachfolge‑Beach” (succession beach), aims to bring potential successors and owners ready to hand over their business
Yet the broader corporate strategy across German‑speaking Europe is increasingly driven by efficiency rather than expansion. A Horváth study of almost 100 executives in Austria found that cost reduction now tops boardroom agendas, followed by investments in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Sustainability has slipped to twelfth place. For 2026, the surveyed companies expect average revenue growth of 4.7 percent—but without adding any new staff. While the United States, China and India are creating jobs, Austria plans to shrink its workforce by 2030 and shift value‑creation processes further east into Eastern Europe.
Experts warn that family‑run firms face a deeper, internal obstacle. Constanze Buchheim of i‑potentials criticised on 19 July 2026 that loyalty is often valued more highly than actual performance. She called this blending of interests a potential growth killer, citing the problematic entanglements at Volkswagen as an example.
Amid the general drive to cut headcount, specialised companies still see retaining skilled workers as essential. The Linz‑based software firm MIC shows one way forward. Since 2013 it has run a programme called “fit2mic” that offers psychological counselling, yoga and an in‑house gym. The result: sick‑leave days run roughly 25 percent below the industry average, and its staff turnover rate stands at 6.6 percent—compared with a typical 15 to 20 percent in the sector.
Internationally, heavy investment in digital skills is remaking economies. In Da Nang, Vietnam, the goal is to lift the digital economy’s share of regional gross domestic product from 12.1 percent in 2025 to 27 percent by 2030, with a focus on semiconductors, fintech and AI.
Meanwhile, Germany’s time‑honoured system of social partnership is coming under strain. Experts from the Cologne Institute for Economic Research are set to discuss on 21 July 2026 how demographic change and the AI transformation are reshaping cooperation between employers and employees. With more than 60,000 job cuts announced at suppliers such as Bosch, Continental, Ford and Volkswagen, political actors are demanding increased state investment and job guarantees.
