Foreign workers are an indispensable pillar of the economy in eastern Germany, according to a study released ahead of elections in three eastern states. “In 2023, around 403,000 people who do not have a German passport were working in the five eastern German states, around 173,000 more than five years earlier,” says the study, published on Sunday by the Institute of German Business (IW). They alone generated €24.6 billion ($27.5 billion)- that corresponds to 5.8% of gross value added in eastern Germany. The study concludes that foreign employees are therefore “indispensable for the east: betwe…