Overview
- IG Metall rejects a zero-pay deal for the 2026 metal and electrical bargaining round and warns it will strike if employers do not agree.
- The plan pushes “Made in Europe” rules, opposes subsidised relocations and urges domestic-focused procurement, with BYD’s Hungary production cited as a cautionary example.
- Union leader Christiane Benner criticises the Economy Ministry’s draft industrial power-price relief as too weak, saying it would bring only single-digit savings.
- Membership fell 3.9% in 2025 to about 2.015 million, including a 4.4% drop in North Rhine-Westphalia to 436,083, which leaders tie to ongoing industry job cuts.
- Despite fewer members, IG Metall reports record €648 million in revenue and a well-stocked strike fund, as roughly 140,000 industrial jobs were lost last year.