Overview

• Norbert Aust, President of Hamburg’s Chamber of Commerce, warned that the city's economic outlook for 2025 appears bleak without significant policy changes.
• Aust emphasized the need for infrastructure investments, reduced bureaucracy, and expanded innovation efforts, including a proposed €1 billion innovation fund.
• He called for a stronger focus on competition and development in the Hamburg port, suggesting the use of unused land to bolster its global standing.
• Rejecting proposals like a four-day workweek, Aust advocated for increasing labor capacity through extended working hours to address the skilled labor shortage.
• A Chamber-commissioned survey revealed widespread dissatisfaction among local businesses with the government's economic strategy and infrastructure planning.