In recent weeks, European industry has announced around 100,000 layoffs due to loss of competitiveness. The problem, which began in Germany, but spreads throughout the continent, has large European companies in check, which see how the United States and China grow without so many restrictions. However, large companies have at least one consolation, as Francisco José Riberas, executive president of Gestamp, diagnoses: “We know what we have to do, but we have to do it quickly.”
Within the framework of XI Megatrends Forum: Industry and Competitiveness organized this Wednesday in Madrid by elEconomista.esRiberas; Antonio Huertas, president of Mapfre; Olvido Moraleda, president of BP in Spain and Fernando Silva, president and CEO of Siemens Spain participated in a round table under the title Towards a more competitive industry to address the challenges faced by Spain and Europe so as not to lose ground against other powers.
The obstacles are localized: fragmentation in the face of a large single market, excess regulation that hinders innovation and an energy cost that is five times higher than that of the other great powers. “I am optimistic, but we have to prioritize. Europe has to prioritize because if this does not happen the consequence is disastrous. And yes, we are on the path, but we have to continue making the path because there is a lot to do,” said Olvido Moraleda.
The first challenge is how to become leaders in innovation again, when situations arise such as the creation of a new law to regulate Artificial Intelligence without having a powerful or even developed ecosystem. “Competitiveness and innovation go hand in hand. And many times strange things happen such as European funds being applied to innovation in the United States, as Bill Gates explained to us in a recent conference,” said Fernando Silva.
“Europe has dedicated itself to the defense of citizens, but it seems that it has done so in contrast to companies. If Europe wants to be strong it has to have strong companies. Look at the example of Telefónica, it was a monster with a huge valuation. In Europe there are 80 operators and in the United States there are only three,” Riberas compared.
Moving towards a single market is the solution that the speakers envision. “The fragmentation of the market hinders the ability to innovate. We try to offer the best solutions for the client, but we encounter national barriers in which we have to overcome very demanding local surveillance. This makes it more difficult for us to reach the size of our peers international markets,” commented Antonio Huertas. And he added: “We have overcome the difficulties of supervision and the characteristics of the different markets, but for this reason we are limited to seeking new solutions in fields such as, for example, Artificial Intelligence.”
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