German manufacturing orders unexpectedly jumped in June, a display of continued resilience amid high levels of uncertainty about the course of the conflict in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported. Factory orders rose 3.1% on month following a downwardly revised 0.3% rise in May, data agency Destatis said Thursday. In the less volatile three-month comparison, new orders from April to June were up 1.3%, Destatis said.

Dwindling water levels on some of Germany’s major rivers, worsened by heat and drought, are raising fears that badly constrained riverboat cargo traffic may deal yet another blow to the struggling economy, StratsTimes.com reported. The Rhine riverbed is partially dry near steelmaker Thyssenkrupp’s blast furnaces in the city of Duisburg, exemplifying how the low waters pose a new challenge for German industry. The waterway also winds past car factories, chemical plants and big river ports as it passes through the industrial heartland of Europe’s biggest economy.

Sono Motors GmbH has filed for insolvency for the second time as the company announced on Monday that it ceased operations as of July 31, PV-Magazine.com reported. The Munich-based start-up was founded in 2016 to develop and commercialise the solar-powered electric vehicle Sion. However, the project failed, and Sono Motors filed for insolvency in May 2023, subsequently attempting to restructure through protective shield proceedings. Since 2024, the company had focused entirely on its B2B solar business, which developed and offered photovoltaic solutions for the automotive industry.

A long-standing packaging manufacturer in southwestern Germany is facing potential closure as Karl Mayer Kartonagenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, based in Haiterbach, has filed for insolvency. Approximately 110 employees are directly affected and now face uncertainty regarding their employment future, The Munich Eye reported. The packaging company, which has been in operation since 1958, specializes in producing customized corrugated cardboard packaging solutions for commercial and industrial clients.

Germany’s automakers are struggling under the weight of American tariffs, Chinese competition and a rocky transition to electric vehicles, the New York Times reported. The gravity of the situation became clear this summer as Volkswagen executives discussed closing factories, canceling models and culling tens of thousands of jobs. The crisis raises questions about whether the German approach of balancing profits with job security by, among other things, giving workers a strong voice in management is capable of adapting to breathtaking technological change.

The German battery manufacturer VARTA confirmed on Friday that it has filed for preliminary insolvency under self-administration, in a bid to secure its economic future and enable the sustainable continuation of its operations, dpaInternational.com reported. According to the company, the filing affects not only VARATA group's parent company headquartered in southern Germany, but also its operating subsidiaries.

Porsche's supervisory board gave its blessing to the next round of restructuring measures on Wednesday, a company spokesperson said, ​with media reporting plans to double job cuts at the embattled German carmaker to ‌9,000, Reuters reported. CEO Michael Leiters has been tasked with overhauling the Volkswagen sports-car subsidiary after it went from profit driver to crisis case, hit by a collapse in China sales, tariff woes and costly electric ​vehicle missteps. Porsche management plans to cut another 5,000 jobs, Manager Magazin reported earlier ​on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.