International corporations are investing in East Germany – is the region now experiencing an upswing?

Berlin, Gruenheide, Dusseldorf The job advertisement reads like a promising call from a golden future. On March 14, Intel announced that it would build two semiconductor factories in southern Magdeburg. The city was given preference over 70 other locations in Germany and Europe.

Intel is investing 17 billion euros, 10,000 jobs are to be created in Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital. Although production will not start until 2027, the chip giant has already advertised the first jobs: Intel is looking for engineers, site managers and project managers on its website.

The settlement of Intel is the most spectacular, but not the only success story for East Germany in recent times. The Tesla factory in Grünheide opened its doors a few weeks ago, and the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL wants to put its factory near Erfurt into operation in the second half of the year. Even the East German start-up scene is making a name for itself: the start-up Staffbase recently became the first unicorn in Chemnitz to be valued at billions.