Over a third of German manufacturers fear that a Brexit will negatively impact their business. The exact figure is 38 percent, according to data released by the Ifo Institute on Wednesday. 61 percent of the manufacturers surveyed, by contrast, expect a Brexit to have no effect on their activities, while just 1 percent expects its impact to be positive.
Large companies with 500+ employees were particularly anxious about the referendum outcome and 53 percent expect a Brexit to negatively impact their operations. For manufacturers in the export business, the figure is 41 percent, which is slightly higher than the overall average.
The share of companies in the electronics industry that fear the negative impact of a Brexit (52 percent) is notably higher than the average. The corresponding share is 49 percent in the automotive industry, 45 percent in the metals branch and 43 percent in equipment manufacturing. In the chemicals segment this figure (39 percent) is only slightly higher than the average for manufacturing as a whole, while figures are below average for the food, beverages and tobacco industry (28 percent), as well as for textiles, clothing and leather goods (21 percent).
Between 6 June and 21 June 2016 the Ifo Institute polled 1,478 manufacturers in Germany on the impact of a Brexit as part of its Business Survey.
