Germany unveiled a broad economic overhaul on Thursday in an attempt to jolt its comatose economy back to life and boost the government’s approval ratings ahead of elections in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported. The 34 measures, including tax and welfare benefit cuts, a relaxation of labor market rules, the lifting of bureaucratic burdens, and steps to encourage investment in fast-growing sectors, will help “overcome Germany’s structurally weak growth,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
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Planethic Group, the German holding company formerly known as Veganz Group, has entered self-administration in a bid to safeguard its “long-term competitiveness,” GreenQueen.com reported. The owner of plant-based brands Mililk, Happy Cheeze, Peas on Earth and Veganz, Planethic Group announced the move in a filing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Planethic Group has been around since 2011, operating across different verticals within the plant-based food space.
Former Bundesliga winners 1860 Munich have launched insolvency proceedings, the latest setback for the long-established club who have plunged into the German fourth division, Agence France-Presse reported. The club, known as 'The Lions', issued a statement on Thursday saying that an administrator had been brought in to oversee insolvency proceedings. The proceedings seek to "obtain an overall picture as quickly as possible in order to review and initiate the next steps together with the management", the club said in a statement.
The number of companies in Germany filing for bankruptcy reached the highest level since 2013 in the first half of 2026, new figures show. According to a study by financial services network Creditreform, there were 12,900 bankruptcies, 7.8% more than in the same period last year, DW.com reported. Bankruptcies also rose by 2.3% among private individuals to a total of 38,800 cases.
Germany-based caprolactam (capro) and polyamides producer LEUNA-Polyamid has entered insolvency proceedings less than three months after the business was acquired from DOMO by its new owners, ICIS.com reported. Formed in early April when chemical park operator InfraLeuna and epoxy producer Leuna-Harze purchased the company from DOMO Chemical, the new company ran into liquidity issues due to deteriorating economic conditions and surging prices. LEUNA-Polyamid filed to initiate insolvency proceeding at Halle District Court on 17 June, according to a customer letter seen by ICIS.
After storied Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM AG presented an insolvency plan to creditors last year, several of them convened a video conference to discuss a counter-proposal. More than 100 parties joined, but none of the usual big corporate lenders were involved. Instead, the group featured a motley crew of backers from tiny German towns, Chinese banks and European pension funds, all with wildly varying knowledge of the case at hand.
The Dortmund-based DIY chain store Hellweg has announced it has filed for bankruptcy. Hellweg’s 68 shops across Germany and its online store will continue operating until further notice, IamExpat.com reported. The company’s around 2.900 employees were informed of the insolvency plan on June 16 and are now set to receive insolvency payments from the Federal Employment Agency over the next three months. According to a Hellweg press release cited by Tagesschau, the company has experienced little financial growth in recent years.
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Thyssenkrupp plans to spin off its materials trading division, whose sales account for nearly a third of the group's total, the German conglomerate said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The spin-off announcement was previously reported by Reuters and continues the company's efforts to turn itself into a holding firm. It has already divested the group's hydrogen and marine divisions via individual stock market listings in previous years.
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German automotive suppliers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next year now outnumber the industry's optimists, a survey showed on Wednesday, as domestic hiring sinks to a new low and investment in the sector moves overseas, Reuters reported. The German auto industry's rocky transition to electric vehicles, which could cost 225,000 jobs in the coming years, has strained suppliers as they also navigate trade barriers and high costs, according to the VDA industry association.
Germany’s central bank on Friday cut its growth forecasts and raised its inflation expectations for this year and next as the war in Iran weighs on the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Europe’s largest economy had been showing signs of recovery at the turn of this year, helped by a large fiscal stimulus from the government that was pledged to ramp up defense spending and fix crumbling infrastructure. Gross domestic product grew last year for the first time since 2022.
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