> Salaries are also not competitive in a lot of places.

This implies there are other companies in the same city/region that pay better. I doubt it. From what I have seen, most German software devs are paid horribly, come to HN complain about it, then proceed to do nothing. The solution is to move to a place that pays higher salaries, like Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, or another country. Or get a 100% remote job.