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Leipzig's budget in crisis: million-dollar deficit and austerity plans are pending!
Leipzig's city council will discuss the budget, financial problems and planned savings of 100 million euros on July 6, 2025.
Leipzig's budget in crisis: million-dollar deficit and austerity plans are pending!
On July 6, 2025, the Leipzig city council approved a new budget for the years 2025 and 2026, which should be approved but is still pending approval by the state management. As the Leipzig Internet newspaper Reportedly, money was discussed at the council meeting on June 26th that was originally planned for 2024 but could not be used. This affects over 14.5 million euros from projects that started in 2024 but have not yet been billed.
What is particularly exciting is the need to carry over a further 5.2 million euros into 2025 in order to continue certain projects. While Finance Mayor Torsten Bonew acts more strictly than in previous years and rejects the transfer of 44,475 euros for the promotion of free art and culture, Left City Councilor Mandy Gehrung expresses her incomprehension about the non-transferability of these funds. Mayor Burkhard Jung points out that there is a lack of specific earmarking of the funds and speaks of a “tense budget situation”.
Financial status quo
The financial situation in Leipzig remains tense. A negative result of around 61 million euros and increasing deficits are forecast for the current year. Information from the MDR News According to the report, the city is already showing a massive increase in its debt, which has grown from 524 million euros to 1,007 million euros. This raises questions about Leipzig's financial ability to act.
To counteract this misery, the city plans to save 100 million euros over the next three years. These measures are taking place as part of a voluntary budget security concept, with staff cuts being discussed as one of the options for reducing costs. The plan is to save around 500 jobs by 2027. Despite the difficult situation, Bonew emphasizes that no one has to fear for their job and that there should be no immediate dismissals.
At the same time, other cities, such as Leverkusen, are also facing challenges in their financial planning. The draft budget for 2024 in Leverkusen provides for planned income of 939.7 million euros, while expenses are 950.7 million euros. A close comparison shows that the budget situation in Leverkusen shows an original deficit of 9.1 million euros, but this can be offset by using the equalization reserve. The investment budget volume for construction work and procurement is around 203.7 million euros, which further contextualizes the planning in Leipzig. Information about this can be viewed in the council information system.
In summary, the financial prospects in Leipzig are anything but rosy. With a strict austerity plan still to be developed, the city faces the challenge of reducing the deficit while making sensible use of existing resources. Whether this will succeed remains to be seen.