German manufacturing orders unexpectedly sank for the fourth straight month in August, as tariff uncertainty over the summer damped international orders, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total orders tumbled 0.8% on month in August, from a 2.7% fall in July, Germany’s statistics agency Destatis said Tuesday. Orders rose in the first quarter in the run-up to the announcement of expected tariffs from the Trump administration at the start of April. Since then, they have slumped. Germany, in common with other European Union members, faces a 15% tariff on most goods imports into the U.S.

German regional solar systems provider Sungrade Photovoltaik has filed for insolvency, facing increasing price pressure, material and supplier issues, as well as volatile market conditions, RenewablesNow.com reported. The Neu-Ulm Local Court ordered on October 2 preliminary insolvency proceedings over the company’s assets, law firm Pluta Rechtsanwalts GmbH said on Monday. Florian Zistler from Pluta was appointed as the preliminary insolvency administrator. According to the statement, Sungrade’s business operations will continue, and existing orders will be fulfilled.

The German retail sector has suffered another major blow as the a large retail group confirms the closure of approximately 70 stores following its insolvency filing, InteriorDaily.com reported. The company, Schlau Brothers Group, which owns both Schlau and Hammer specialty stores, entered self-administered insolvency in summer 2025 amid rising costs and financial strain. While the Hammer chain will be partially salvaged through acquisition, saving around 1,200 jobs, roughly 70 of its 93 locations are still set to shut down.

Germany's unemployment level is expected to fall in the two next years as the long-awaited recovery of Europe's biggest economy gathers pace, a source told Reuters on Monday, citing government forecasts. The forecasts, first published by Reuters on Saturday, will be presented by the economy minister on Wednesday. According to the new government projections, unemployment will edge down from 6.3% this year to 6.2% in 2026, before easing to 6.0% in 2027.

The number of people out of work in Germany rose more than expected in September, labour office figures showed on Tuesday, as the job market struggles to recover in a continually weak economy, Reuters reported. In seasonally adjusted terms, the jobless figure rose by 14,000 to 2.98 million. The non-adjusted number of unemployed people in Germany last month passed the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade but fell by about 70,000 to 2.95 million again in September.

Germany's top appeals court quashed on Tuesday a lower court's decision to back a settlement by Volkswagen over directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage in the so-called dieselgate case, Reuters reported.

Germany expects the United States to apply a 15% tariff rate to pharmaceuticals and heavy trucks, a government spokesperson said during a regular press conference on Monday, Reuters reported. U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new import tariffs last week, including 100% duties on patented drugs and 25% levies on heavy-duty trucks, triggering fresh trade uncertainty.

Bosch will cut around 13,000 extra jobs at its auto-parts business by 2030, representing about 3% of its global workforce. The cuts, which come on top of thousands of job losses at Bosch in recent years, will mainly affect positions in Germany. The company’s base in the Stuttgart region is set to be the hardest hit, while sites in areas such as Feuerbach and Schwieberdingen will see thousands of job cuts. The engineering giant is seeking to claw back €2.5 billion in losses “as quickly as possible” as Europe’s car industry remains in the doldrums.

German automotive supplier Kiekert has applied for insolvency, according to a court document seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Two core businesses - Kiekert AG and Kiekert Holding GmbH - have initiated insolvency proceedings and Joachim Exner has been appointed as administrator on an interim basis, the document showed. Kiekert, which specialises in locking systems, has 4,500 employees in 11 locations, according to its website.