Germany’s Worker Representation Falls to Historic Low as Only 7% of Firms Have Works Councils

Only 7% of firms have works councils; 1 in 5 block them. Amid mass layoffs, a fight over 8-hour day erupts, while some firms test shorter hours to save jobs.

A new study by the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) published in May 2026 paints a grim picture for workplace democracy: just seven percent of all eligible businesses now have an active works council. The research also reveals that roughly one in five companies actively block the formation of a new council. To sidestep parity-based co-determination, a growing number of employers are converting into a European Company (SE), a legal form that allows them to weaken employee representation.

The collapse of internal checks comes at a time when German industry is already shedding thousands of jobs. At the North Sea Terminal (NTB) in Bremerhaven, around 500 of 1,000 positions will disappear. Operators Eurogate and APM Terminals are pouring one billion euros into automation, lifting capacity from three million to four million standard containers (TEU) while offering affected staff partial retirement, early retirement packages, and severance.

Dow Chemical is also cutting deep at its Stade site, eliminating 110 of 1,100 jobs as part of the global “Transform to Outperform” programme. Worldwide the chemical giant will shed 4,500 roles, aiming to boost operating profit by two billion US dollars. Site manager Carl Parnham has pledged a socially responsible plan negotiated with the works council.

Landliebe, a well-known German dairy brand, is shutting production in Heilbronn entirely. Machinery will run until the end of 2016 before output shifts to Saxony and Bavaria. Almost 200 employees face redundancy. The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) has slammed the operator for lacking any real commitment to keeping the site alive.

Against this backdrop of restructuring, a bitter political fight over working hours has reignited. In early June 2016, Steffen Kampeter, managing director of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA), called for the abolition of the traditional eight-hour day, arguing that more flexibility is essential for competitiveness. The federal government has proposed switching from a daily to a weekly maximum working time. But DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi hit back hard on Monday, labelling the plan an “ideologically misguided path” because it would permit shifts as long as 13 hours — compared to today’s standard of eight, or ten under strict conditions. The Social Association of Germany sided with the unions.

Could shorter hours actually prevent layoffs? At the Druckhaus Weddingstedt printing plant, managers are testing that very question. The plan would cut hours to 30 for printers and helpers, and 33 in the dispatch department, while switching from three to two shifts. The model requires approval from the ver.di union. Proponents say it preserves a skilled workforce even when order books are thin or structural shifts demand change.

Digitalisation is accelerating the personnel overhaul. According to the DGB study, 60 percent of surveyed companies have already cut jobs in anticipation of automation via artificial intelligence.

There are rare bright spots. At Amazon’s Frankenthal logistics centre, ver.di scored gains during works council elections in May 2026. Yet the broader industrial front remains tense. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) warns that up to 125,000 automotive jobs could vanish by 2035, driven by low capacity utilisation and falling Chinese sales. Volkswagen sold 4.2 million cars there in 2019; by 2025 that figure had slumped to just 2.7 million.