Loss of Haribo has been absorbed These are the 35 largest employers in the region
Bonn/Region · The number of employees at large companies in Bonn and the region is shrinking slightly. At the same time, there was a peak in the number of employees in the region who were subject to social insurance contributions.
When it comes to the 35 largest employers in the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg area, a change has come: Haribo moved out of the region and no longer appears in the annual overview. Accordingly, the total number employed by those 35 largest employers has decreased slightly. In the middle of last year, 51,445 people were working for the 35 companies, while in the previous year it was 51,753 employees. A year earlier, the then largest 35 employers had a total of 52,112 employees.
Fewer jobs at banks and insurance service providers
"A look at the total number of jobs with the largest employers shows that the relocation of Haribo was offset effectively. This speaks for the economic stability in the region, even in times of economic weakness," says Hubertus Hille, Managing Director of the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg Chamber of Industry and Commerce. A year ago, Haribo stated that it had 728 employees; in 2017, the confectionery manufacturer still had 1,275 employees in the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region. The IHK and the General-Anzeiger have jointly compiled the data for the survey.
"There is little overall change among the largest employers in the region. Slight declines have been recorded among the banks and insurance service providers," explains Michael Schmaus, consultant for economic policy at the IHK. On the one hand, the relocation of Zürich insurance company plays a role here, and on the other hand the restructuring of business models in the banking sector. Zurich moved its headquarters to Cologne at the end of the year and took many Bonn employees with it.
At Deutsche Telekom, the largest employer in the region, the number of employees fell slightly to 13,900, a decrease of 310. Deutsche Telekom spokesman Peter Kespohl attributed this to the imprecise geographical allocation of jobs in the Group's organizational structure and temporary relocations within the Group. There were no significant changes, Kespohl said. The number of employees at Deutsche Post was stable.
Slight decline also for Postbank
The number of employees at Postbank also fell only slightly from 3,385 to 3,294. In view of the major workforce reduction plans at Deutsche Bank, to which Postbank belongs, the change is relatively minor. The consequences of outsourcing logistics to the Post Division DHL Supply Chain are being felt at the electronics group Eaton. After a total of 1,135 employees in 2018, only 897 employees are now listed in the region. DHL Supply Chain now handles the distribution of goods from the warehouse to the locations for Eaton. The company's own distribution center in Meckenheim has been closed, and DHL has opened a new logistics center in Rheinbach for this task. According to Eaton, the majority of Eaton employees from the Meckenheim distribution center decided to join DHL.
Along with the relatively stable labor market conditions among the major employers, there was a peak in the number of employees in the region who were subject to social insurance contributions. As of June 2019 - the latest published figures - a total of 343,981 employees in the region were subject to social security contributions. This is an increase of 2.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Employment Agency.
The fact that the 35 largest employers saw their staff numbers fall slightly while the overall number of employees in the region rose means that it is the small and medium-sized companies that are creating the jobs. This is a trend that has also been observed in previous years. A total of 58,303 work in the health and social services sector, explains Lars Normann, spokesman for the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Employment Agency. This sector is not even represented among the 35 largest private employers. Further facts: 69.3 percent of employees work full-time. 13.9 percent of the employees are foreigners. 52.4 percent have a vocational training and 22.6 percent have an academic degree.
Ministry positions in the region are on the rise again
A significant proportion of the region's employees work in the public sector. At the end of December, 14,934 ministry posts were in Berlin and 6,686 in Bonn, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Overall, the number of Bonn ministerial posts has increased again. Both in the summer of 2018 and one year earlier, it was only 6,300 ministerial posts.
The number of staff in Bonn's city administration has also increased, with 7,144 employees working in about 5,300 positions. One year earlier, there were only 6,950 employees. The number of UN employees in Bonn is stable at around 1000.
The University of Bonn employs 6,602 people, 3,485 male and 3,117 female, including positions financed by third party and state funds. At the University Hospital Bonn the number of employees remained unchanged at about 8,000. This is also an indication of the strength of the health care system in the region.
(Orig. text: Claudia Mahnke, Translation: Carol Kloeppel)
