Economic downturn: CFOs in Austria are planning massive job cuts!

Economic downturn: CFOs in Austria are planning massive job cuts!

Austrian CFOs are in difficult times! The ongoing economic downturn and stagnating sales are depressing the mood in companies. A recent Deloitte survey shows that two out of five CFOs plan to cut staff in the coming half-year as economic uncertainty remains high. In Austria, 73 chief financial officers were surveyed, and the results are alarming: Over half of those surveyed find the general economic situation to be uncertain, an increase of 40 percent since the last survey in the spring. Gerhard Marterbauer from Deloitte explains: “Uncertainty in the Austrian economy continues, despite lower inflation.” This makes the challenge for companies unmistakable.

Industry-specific developments

The recovery of the economy is highly dependent on the industry. While nearly half of CFOs in the services sector have become more optimistic, retail continues to suffer. According to the survey, a third of the retail companies surveyed have worse business prospects than three months ago. The real estate and mechanical engineering sectors are particularly under pressure, as they are burdened by rising interest rates and high raw material prices. Deloitte sees big differences here: While large companies with sales of over one billion euros report a negative outlook, the technology sector shows a positive trend with an index value of +23%.

Nevertheless, inflation uncertainty remains a major issue. Despite a decline, chief financial officers expect inflation to average 6.3% over the next 12 months, far from the European Central Bank's desired target. However, given these conditions, CFOs appear to be cautiously optimistic: willingness to invest and job creation are returning to positive territory, especially in the technology sector, while trading is facing stagnation, as Deloitte reported.