page_title: Economy of Berlin
section_title: Companies
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of Berlin / Companies
caption_attribution_description: English: Motorcycle, manufacturer BMW, Modell G650GS, 2013
context_page_description: The economy of Berlin is dominated by the service sector, with around 84% of all companies doing business in services. Important economic sectors in Berlin include life sciences, transportation, information and communication technologies, media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, construction, e-commerce, retail, hotel business, and medical engineering.
  Berlin became one of the largest and most advanced industrial centers in Europe after 1870. After 1900 the Berlin banking district became a major continental financial center and was home to a number of prominent banks. After the end of World War II in 1945 and the subsequent political divisions, the city's location inside of East Germany led to an exodus of many major firms to West Germany. Berlin's economy has been affected through the years by the city's changing geopolitical fortunes from 1961-1989. The city stagnated economically during the Cold War, when West Berlin was isolated geographically and East Berlin suffered from poor economic decisions made by East Germany’s socialist central planners.
context_section_description: The state-owned railway, Deutsche Bahn, has its headquarters in Berlin. Many German and international companies have business or service centres in the city.
  Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the Deutsche Bahn, the hospital providers, Charité and Vivantes, the local public transport provider, BVG, Siemens, and the telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom. Daimler manufactures cars, and BMW manufactures motorcycles in Berlin. Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Berlin Chemie are major pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the city.
  Some other notable companies with their headquarters in Berlin are 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, Axel Springer SE, Bombardier Transportation, Bundesdruckerei, KPMG Deutschland, Alba Group, Otis Deutschland, Universal Music Germany, Coca-Cola European Partners Deutschland, Delivery Hero, Lloyds Banking Group Europe, solarisBank, N26, Pfizer Germany, Zalando, GASAG, and Vattenfall Deutschland.
  The top 10 largest employers in Berlin by number of employees in 2016:
caption: BMW operates a large motorcycle factory in Berlin.
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