Saxony is extremely well established as a thriving business location. The success story began in the 18th century and continues to this day: since 1990, more than 6,000 companies have either set up business in the state or acquired a local enterprise. Since the year 2000, the Saxon economy has grown by over 30 per cent, giving Saxony the highest GDP growth rate of any federal state in the country.

“The key success factors that made us choose Leipzig as a location were the airport’s location near the growth markets in Eastern Europe, the reliable long-term planning thanks to the comprehensive night flight permit, the pool of highly motivated, well-trained workers, and the infrastructure with its progressive combination of transport modes: air, road and rail. 
To operate our hub, we need plenty of people to get down to work with us. Career changers are just as welcome here as qualified specialists – DHL has a wide variety of jobs to choose from, and every single one offers interesting prospects in an international environment.”

Philippe Bauer
HR Director at DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH

Global Player in Sachsen

In fact, the infrastructure is a particularly crucial factor when it comes to global business: that and Saxony’s good geographical location make it the ideal logistics location for Europe-wide distribution. The state is in the centre of Europe, and the regions around Leipzig are some of Germany’s most dynamic logistics locations. 

Global companies in Saxony

At the heart of Europe – there are plenty of good reasons for global companies to select Saxony as a location. Many of those reasons have already been brought up on our platform: not just the broad mix of industries, the high level of innovation and the people behind it, or the region’s spirit of scientific enquiry, but also the good work-life balance and property and rental prices – the cost of living in Saxony is among the lowest in Europe. These come hand in hand with unrivalled funding schemes for investment projects. 

The international companies operating on Saxon soil include well-known giants such as Volkswagen, BMW and Porsche: it’s no coincidence that the state is known as “Autoland Sachsen”. But “car country” is not Saxony’s only nickname: as the home to Europe’s largest microelectronics location, it is also known as “Silicon Saxony”. Half of all microchips produced in Europe are made in Saxony. 

Export

Photo credits: DHL HUB Leipzig, Görlitz district

VNG AG 
Energy in the region: VNG is a corporate association operating throughout Europe, comprising more than 20 companies and a broad, future-proof portfolio of services in the fields of gas and infrastructure. Its more than 1,200 staff make the energy group one of the region’s most important employers.

Amazon 
Amazon Distribution GmbH chose Leipzig as the site for its logistics centre and has been shipping goods all over the world from its 75,000 square metres of warehousing since 2006. Since 2019, Lampertswalde in the district of Meissen has also had a small, but significant distribution centre.

SAP 
A cloud company, SAP leads the market in business software and operates all over the world: more than 140 countries use its application solutions. Dresden is one of the sites shaping the future of technology.

T-Systems 
T-Systems International GmbH provides information and communication technology for various industries. This international company is the world’s leading provider of non-proprietary digital services and has its headquarters in Saxony!

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals 
Having singled out Saxony as a location, this British group produces flu vaccines for some 70 countries including the USA. The site employs roughly 700 staff, and new employees are always sought.

GlobalFoundries
As well as its factory in Dresden, this US company also has three production sites in the USA and one in Singapore. Thanks to its commitment to research and development, GlobalFoundries has helped the state of Saxony carve out a position as Europe’s leading microelectronics and nanoelectronics centre.

Infineon 
Innovative semiconductors can also be found at Infineon, in the north of Dresden. Founded in 1994, the Dresden site is one of the largest and most modern locations for manufacturing, technology and product development, now with more than 2,700 employees. 

BOSCH 
The new BOSCH plant in Dresden brings another microelectronics flagship to the state capital. Some 700 workers will be taking on the task of producing high-quality semiconductor chips there. The mass production of automotive electronics is set to begin in 2021. 

DHL 
DHL Hub Leipzig GmbH operates the DHL logistics centre at Leipzig/Halle Airport as one of three global aviation hubs. Every day sees more than 6,000 employees shift 150,000 packages an hour on the terminal’s 87,000 square metres. The global hub has roughly 23,600 flight movements per year.