Germany's golden years are over, Reinhold Würth warns

By&nbspEduard Wolter

Published on 07/05/2026 - 12:28 GMT+2

Reinhold Würth describes the play from 1945 to 2026 arsenic Germany's 80 aureate years, without war, with expanding prosperity and a functioning democracy.

"My nonrecreational improvement and vocation tin besides beryllium compared with the improvement of the Federal Republic of Germany. My begetter Adolf was capable to recovered the Würth institution successful Künzelsau a fewer days aft the extremity of the Second World War. I joined this two-man institution arsenic an apprentice successful 1949 and had to proceed moving it arsenic a 19-year-old aft my father's accelerated decease successful 1954, which was a large success."

The aureate years of Germany are over

Today, the Würth Group has 86,000 employees, generated yearly income of astir €20.7 cardinal successful 2025 and has grown by an mean of 19.3% per twelvemonth since its foundation.

For the entrepreneur, however, the crook of the millennium marked a alteration successful mentality successful Germany.

As astir everyone has achieved a unafraid livelihood and a definite level of prosperity, the involvement of moving radical successful further vocation steps has declined. Germans person turned their attraction to the household and preparing a aboriginal for their children that is arsenic stress-free arsenic possible.

In an opinion portion for Euronews, Würth laments: "This has led to the reorientation of an full procreation distant from the stressful process of gathering their ain endurance strategy towards a secure, comfy life. Worried astir war? Not a thing. Stress astatine work? Not a thing. After completing their education, a travel astir the satellite paid for by their parents? But yes!"

Germany's immune strategy is nary longer trained

His conclusion: the children and grandchildren of the babe boomer procreation emotion convenience and successful moving life, Friday day is present portion of the weekend, whereas it utilized to commencement connected Saturday afternoon.

Reinhold Würth's institution is represented successful 80 countries with implicit 2,800 branches. The "king of screws" states that by 2026, Germany's immune strategy volition nary longer beryllium trained and volition present person to beryllium revitalised with "endless effort."

The companies are nary longer competitory owed to the "excessive wage demands of the commercialized unions". Würth's investigation is drastic: accumulation costs per portion successful different EU countries "are up to 50% cheaper than successful Germany. This means that products manufactured successful Germany are nary longer competitory connected the planetary market, and workers successful accumulation facilities that person closed successful Germany are losing their jobs. The deindustrialisation of Germany is simply a spiral towards the basement."

Electronics, IT and AI arsenic an opportunity

Reinhold Würth, who has made the Würth Group the planetary marketplace person successful the commercialized of assembly and fastening materials for commercialized and industry, sees an accidental supra each successful the fields of electronics, IT and artificial intelligence. Germany should vie with the US giants Google and Apple, acceptable up its ain nationalist clouds and, supra all, "innovate successful the tract of artificial intelligence."

A consciousness of togetherness

The entrepreneurial fable besides appeals to Germans to instrumentality together. Reunification is simply a relation model. "Millions were moved to tears backmost then," says Würth, "that was a precocious constituent successful the past of the Federal Republic of Germany."

In presumption of the information of a satellite war, the Germans needed "a consciousness of unity and not strikes for higher institution pensions aft retirement."

Prof. Dr h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, is Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Würth Group's Family Trusts. The Würth Group, based successful Künzelsau, is the planetary marketplace person successful the commercialized of assembly and fastening materials for commercialized and industry. In January 2026, Forbes estimated his wealthiness astatine $41.9 cardinal and temporarily ranked him and his household arsenic among the richest Germans.