German battery maker Varta files insolvency applications

It's not that bad, they still make money on consumer- and micro batteries. Needs a bit of restructuring.

FTA - They lost Apple as their main customer. Apple is switching to Chinese battery manufactures.

The sentiment seems to be that this is unique to Germany but is there any country that can rival China in manufacturing?

If this were a US company with better PR, I wonder if it would have read more like:

"Varta Boldy Undertakes Strategic Restructuring to Unlock Value and Sharpen Business Focus"

Apple giveth, Apple taketh away.

so sad to see Germany's fall right in front of our eyes.

I only encountered this brand when trying to buy batteries for old cameras. It would be a shame if some of those less common varieties were no longer available.

Rip German industry. Gerhard Schroeder was a good Chancellor.

> Varta lost its key customer in the spring: Apple plans to source the rechargeable "CoinPower" button cells for its AirPods headphones from China in the future.

It's another tough loss for German and European industry. Battery tech requires a lot of electricity and German energy prices are simply not competitive. And EU regulations limit how much the German government can subsidize industrial electricity costs.

Lots of debt, expensive labor, expensive energy, and EU Battery Regulation and limits on subsidies all adds up to just losing the business completely to China.