Turnover in the plastics processing industry in Germany fell by a further 1.8% in 2025 compared to the previous year. The industry association GKV called on the German government and the European Commission to implement far-reaching economic reforms and reduce bureaucracy.
Turnover in the plastics processing industry amounted to 68.2 billion euros in 2025. The export share amounted to 43 percent. The number of employees in the industry fell by 5,600 to around 307,000. The President of the German Plastics Processing Industry Association (GKV), Dr. Helen Fürst, called for more determination and speed in the necessary reforms at the association’s annual economic press conference on Ash Wednesday in Frankfurt am Main. In particular, she called for a far-reaching reduction in bureaucracy in Germany and the European Union and welfare state reforms to curb non-wage labor costs.
The association president called on the German government not to apply any further EU regulations in Germany until an effective reduction in bureaucracy has been decided. “Germany needs an effective protective wall against the flood of bureaucracy from Brussels,” said Dr. Helen Fürst.
The family entrepreneur also criticized the lack of work ethic and the lack of economic competence in politics. “Distrust, class warfare rhetoric, envy debates and a culture of indignation are damaging the social partnership and are therefore also standing in the way of the promised economic turnaround,” said Fürst during her speech in Frankfurt am Main. The association president called for more work: “‘Now we’re spitting in our hands again! ‘ must be the unmistakable message of this year!” appealed Fürst.
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