Gerhardi's bankruptcy was the result of a prolonged decline in demand for its products. The fate of the company's 1,500 employees is still unknown, Bloomberg reports.
The company, founded in 1796, started as a manufacturer of metal products. Later, Gerhardi switched to the automotive industry and became a supplier of iconic emblems for Mercedes-Benz, as well as other car trim elements. But even two world wars did not hit the company as hard as the current economic situation.
With the bankruptcy of Gerhardi, the number of layoffs in the European automotive industry in early 2024 exceeded 53,000 people - more than during the pandemic. Most of the redundancies are in Germany. This is due to the fact that relatively small companies are losing orders from large corporations, such as Volkswagen AG, Stellantis NV and Ford Motor.
This is not the first star manufacturer for Mercedes-Benz to go bankrupt in recent years. In 2022, BIA Forst, which produced vertical emblems for models such as the S-Class, suffered a similar fate.
Source: Bloomberg