Amid a major slump in the German economy, the profits of the giant Deutsche Bank, the country’s largest, crashed a huge 92 per cent yesterday, intensifying the economic and political crisis.
In reaction, the bank vowed to slash thousands of jobs worldwide after its profits plunged to 106m euros (£89m) in the final three months of 2024, down from 1.26bn euros in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The slump comes after Germany’s economy, previously the powerhouse of the broader EU economy, contracted for a second year in a row in 2024.
Higher energy prices as a result of the war in Ukraine have undermined the competitiveness of German industry, after the US sanctioned Russian gas supplies.
Deutsche Bank has more than 90,000 employees in offices across the globe, including almost 7,000 in the UK.
Meanwhile, in the already bankrupt UK, with the weakest economy in the G7, mass sackings are being announced on a daily basis with banks, supermarkets and universities slashing thousands of jobs in a desperate attempt to stave of bankruptcy in a race to the bottom of the all-engulfing financial crisis.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ doomesday policies are to drastically reduce public debt by the destruction of social benefits, the NHS, poverty wages, increased taxes and deregulation of almost everything to let the market decide in the pursuit of a declaration of war to wipe out the NHS.
Leading the onslaught is PM Starmer’s Labour government. It has been told by US President Donald Trump that a UK-US trade deal is only possible if the NHS is fully opened up and privatised for exploitation by the giant US Health care companies.
Recent ‘back to basics’ statements by Health Secretary Wes Streeting instruct NHS managers to ‘live within their means and not to spend beyond their budgets’.
NHS managers are to have the most ambitious targets yet to boost productivity and efficiency, following warnings that the health service racked up deficits of £2 billion in the first few months of this financial year, and that this trend must be halted by any means that are necessary.
The plans promise to cut central bureaucracy, with the elimination of any duplication of functions at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. This is a clear plan to close whole hospitals!
But, in a further blow to Labour’s attempts to ‘grow the economy’ by attracting investment, $US 821bn of gold bullion from the Bank of England vaults was sent to HSBC and JP Morgan vaults in New York, according the Financial Times yesterday.
The transfer of 926 tonnes of physical gold, up 73 per cent since November, is driven by the threat of tariffs on US imports, possibly including gold, by Donald Trump.
However, the working class must defend the NHS, social services and wages against all these assaults. The only way to do this is by bringing down this reactionary Labour government with a general strike to bring in a Workers Government and Socialism.
Building the revolutionary leadership of the Workers Revolutionary Party and the Young Socialists to organise this socialist revolution is more urgent than ever.
The task is to replace the present TUC leaders, who refuse to mobilise the working class, to bring down the Starmer government, and to organise to bring in a Workers Government that will expropriate the bosses and bankers and bring in a socialist, publicly owned nationalised and planned economy to satisfy the requirements of the working class and the middle class.
The maxim of this government will be ‘From each according to their ability to each according to their need.’
The law of the jungle of capitalist society will be consigned to the history books and planned production to satisfy the needs of the working class and the youth will be the rule.
Now is the time for all workers and youth to join the WRP and the Young Socialists to organise, lead and carry out the British Socialist revolution as a vital component part of the World Socialist Revolution!
