Germany’s industrial machine is grinding to a halt, as waves of corporate bankruptcies and economic turmoil trigger what some insiders now call a worse crisis than the 2008 financial meltdown.

According to a bombshell report from Allianz Trade, the outlook for Germany’s business landscape is bleak—and getting worse. The firm projects that 2025 will see another 11% surge in insolvencies, with over 24,000 companies expected to collapse. And 2026 doesn’t look much better, with another 3% spike forecasted.

Those are just the raw numbers. The real cost? An estimated 210,000 jobs on the line.

Milo Bogaerts, CEO of Allianz Trade in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, warned that the situation isn’t stabilizing anytime soon. He partially blamed U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff policies for sending economic shockwaves through global supply chains and adding pressure to German exporters.

Bogaerts said 2024 was already “a record-breaking negative year,” and 2025 is shaping up to follow the same devastating trajectory. Major firms in sectors like automotive, textiles, chemicals, and even healthcare are collapsing. Just in the first quarter of this year, Germany lost three hospitals, three large textile companies, two automotive suppliers, and two chemical firms.

And it’s not just about trade policy. Germany’s own economic decisions are under intense scrutiny. The Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) issued a damning report in April accusing the ruling coalition of crafting the crisis themselves.

“The economic situation has deteriorated dramatically,” the BDI warned. “This crisis is primarily homemade.”

Tanja Gönner, the BDI’s general manager, blasted the government’s tax policy and sluggish bureaucracy, saying, “The tax burden must quickly become internationally competitive.” She added that while the coalition talks a big game about modernization, there’s little action to back it up.

Even auctioneers are waving red flags. Veteran bankruptcy court reporter and auctioneer Jürgen Philippi says he’s never seen anything like this. “More and more industries are affected. I haven’t seen that yet,” he told Tagesschau.

Philippi, who’s worked through past recessions and the 2008 crash, says this one is different because it’s not just financial—there’s a deep sense of hopelessness. Managing directors aren’t even trying to save their companies anymore.

“Taxes that are too high, too much bureaucracy,” Philippi said. “I don’t want to do that anymore—I hear that more and more.”

It’s a chilling sentiment coming from the epicenter of Europe’s economic engine. And it begs the question: if Germany, once seen as the stable anchor of the EU, is crumbling under economic and regulatory pressure—who’s next?

With inflation woes, energy instability, and rising trade wars on the horizon, Germany’s meltdown could be a preview of a broader European reckoning. And if the world’s fourth-largest economy spirals, the global ripple effect will be anything but minor.