27 percent of medium-sized companies are planning to reduce their workforce

2023-12-13 07:14:04

Austria’s medium-sized companies are looking to the future with concern. The expectations of medium-sized companies are more pessimistic than they have been in over 20 years, according to the creditor protection association Creditreform, which surveyed around 1,400 Austrian small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the autumn. In view of the gloomy economic outlook, more than a quarter are planning to reduce their workforce. Things are particularly bad in trade and construction.

Almost half of the companies surveyed expect orders and sales to decline. Tighter financing conditions are noticeably slowing down companies’ investment activity. “Rising interest rates and higher requirements from credit institutions and suppliers are putting a strain on the solvency of small and medium-sized companies,” said Creditreform Austria managing director Gerhard Weinhofer on Wednesday. According to the survey, almost one in five companies fears that they will no longer be able to get a loan.