Media: US troop withdrawal could cost Germany thousands of jobs

Mayors across Germany are warning that the planned withdrawal of US troops could have devastating consequences for local economies and result in the loss of thousands of jobs, with the town of Vilseck, near the Czech border, among the communities most vulnerable to the move.

The town of about 6,500 residents hosts nearly 5,000 US military personnel and Vilseck Mayor Thorsten Gradl said around 30,000 Americans live across the wider region, Caliber.Az reports, citing Handelsblatt.

He noted that about one-third of them could leave if the withdrawal goes ahead.

According to Gradl, that would be a dramatic blow to the entire economic and social life of the region.

US forces have been stationed in the area for more than 80 years and remain its largest employer. According to Gradl, their annual economic contribution amounts to between €650 million and €700 million.

A study by the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the University of Cologne found that, on average, the withdrawal of every two U.S. soldiers results in the loss of one full-time job subject to social security contributions. An analysis of the departure of around 200,000 U.S. troops from Germany in the early 1990s found that municipal revenues fell by 9%, with the effects still evident today.

Johannes Kohems, the study's author, stressed that the impact of a troop withdrawal is in many ways comparable to the closure of a major factory in a region.

In his view, rural and economically dependent areas are especially vulnerable.

At the same time, some officials in the Wiesbaden region see potential opportunities. After the US Army relocated its headquarters from Heidelberg to Wiesbaden in 2013, the vacated land was redeveloped into much-needed residential neighbourhoods.

Around 38,000 U.S. military personnel are currently stationed in Germany, the largest U.S. military contingent in Europe.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov