Rheinmetall to hire 10,000 employees annually amid rising defense demand

Rheinmetall is recruiting approximately 10,000 new employees annually to support a rapid expansion of its defense production capabilities. CEO Armin Papperger announced during a second-quarter earnings call that the company has received over 160,000 applications, providing a significant talent pool to meet rising demand.

The company’s order backlog surged by 44% compared to the previous year, reaching €80.4 billion at the end of the second quarter. This growth is driven by a sharp increase in military contracts.

To facilitate this ramp-up, Rheinmetall is investing heavily in physical infrastructure, including factories and production lines for ammunition, propellants, explosives, and rocket motors. The company is also increasing its inventory levels to ensure production remains uninterrupted. While management is seeking cost efficiencies to manage capital expenditure, Papperger confirmed that planned factory expansions and production capacities remain unchanged.