Yes and no. German companies are outsourcing like crazy, but they have the whole central/eastern european countries as outsourcing destinations. Low wages, high

Yes and no. German companies are outsourcing like crazy, but they have the whole central/eastern european countries as outsourcing destinations. Low wages, high level of education, short distances, EU membership make them really attractive. A lot of very basic, work-intensive or energy-intensive work has left Germany over the last 30y, but the companies make a killing of value-added manufacturing. Also, not least due to unification, till a couple of years ago, German wages were very stagnant, so it wasn't that great a country for industrial workers, paywise.