The employees of many international companies such as Unilever, Beiersdorf, Facebook and Google, who have set up their German headquarters here, also appreciate the fact that Hamburg has a lot to offer culturally. Just an hour and a half by train from Germany's capital Berlin, the Hamburg metropolitan region is one of the strongest economic regions in Germany and a central trading hub in Northern Europe. In sectors such as logistics, the digital and creative industries and the media, it is one of Germany's leaders. Hamburg occupies a prominent international position in the aviation industry. Over 40.000 people work in Hamburg for Airbus, Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg Airport and 300 other companies and research institutes. The same applies to wind energy. Two thirds of the global expertise in these technologies is based in and around Hamburg. Between Jutland in Denmark and Hamburg, around 25.000 people work for around 1.500 companies in the renewable energy sector. Major companies such as DONG Energy, Nordex, Senvion, Siemens and Vestas have their headquarters in Hamburg.
Modern container and cruise ships are giants, often several hundred metres long. Their spectacular manoeuvres off the quays and harbour basins are precision work on a gigantic scale. The size and draught of the ships have brought about a structural change in Hamburg in recent years. The container port, the third largest in Europe and one of the most important in the world with a throughput of almost eight million standard containers, has moved down the Elbe and to the southern bank of the river.
Employees benefit not only from the high quality of life in Hamburg, but also from the metropolitan region. This stretches from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, from the flat marshes on the North Sea to the hilly Lüneburg Heath and the quiet Wendland. The interplay of a strong economy and surrounding nature, cultural diversity, shopping opportunities and an interesting cityscape makes for one of the most attractive metropolises in Germany and Europe: contrary to the general trend, Hamburg's population will not decline in the coming decades, but rather grow.
