(Image source: Adobe Stock)
Due to the shortage of domestic labor force, especially the lack of talents proficient in software development skills,Some German companies are seizing the "opportunity" of layoffs in Silicon Valley and aggressively recruiting top talents.
Germany urgently needs a large number of IT talents
The West Coast of the United States has always been a mecca for software engineers from all over the world. They are full of ambitions and hope to get the highest paying and most decent jobs in the industry. The mass layoffs brought their careers to an abrupt end, but created an opportunity for German companies to grab people. Chance.
“They fire, we hire,” said Rainer Zugehoer, chief people officer at Cariad, the software development subsidiary of automaker Volkswagen. "We have hundreds of open positions in the US, Europe and China."
Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook parent Meta combined cut nearly 40000 jobs amid concerns about inflation and the prospect of a recession.
While Germany is also teetering on the brink of recession, German companies have also grown slowly in recent years,But in a country where fax machines are still a staple of office equipment, the digital revolution has plenty of room to grow.
(Source: iStock)
Germany, which has one of the world's most aging populations, has a huge workforce gap: According to IT industry group Bitkom, there are 137000 IT job vacancies in the country.
welcome to immigrant germany
The German government has proposed simplifying immigration rules to make it easier for highly skilled immigrants to obtain citizenship, and local governments are also stepping up their efforts.
“I would like to cordially invite you to move to Bavaria,” Judith Gerlach, the minister of digitalization in Germany’s wealthiest region, addressed Silicon Valley layoffs on LinkedIn.
Bavaria (Source: Getty Image)
But the reality is very skinny. Few European companies can afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual salaries of large California factories. But German officials point out that compared with hot spots such as San Francisco, Germany has cheaper health care and lower labor costs. living cost.
"Did I mention Oktoberfest?" Gerlach added, trying to appeal to Silicon Valley's army of unemployed with Munich's famous Oktoberfest.
Bureaucracy may become the biggest obstacle
Some are skeptical, with Bitkom's Bernhard Rohleder pointing out that Germany is not only competing with other countries for the best talent, but also with the host countries of potential talent.
Germany's penchant for red tape could be another challenge: German companies have reported thatInterviews for new employees applying for work permits can be months long.
(Source: Thelocal.de)
Diana Stoleru of Berlin startup Lendis says:"German bureaucracy can be overwhelming for most high-quality employees, who will be completely devastated the first time they encounter it if they don't speak German."
