In a glum finding, a KPMG report said that 39% of chief executive officers have stopped hiring while 46% are considering downsizing the workforce over the next 6 months.
“With continued economic turmoil, there are signs the Great Resignation could be cooling down, with 39% of CEOs having already implemented a hiring freeze, and 46% considering downsizing their workforce over the next 6 months. However, the three-year view is more optimistic with only 9 percent expecting a further reduced headcount,” according to the KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook report.
KPMG’s findings were based on a survey of 1300 CEOs of the world’s biggest companies in 13 different markets such as Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK and US. The CEOs who are asked about their views on strategic and outlook for the year ahead hail from different sectors such as management, automotive, banking, consumer and retail, energy, infrastructure, insurance, life sciences, manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications.
The report further stated that a majority of chief executives expect a mild and short recession in the global economy in the next few months. It is to be noted that central banks across the world are trying to reign in high inflation levels by increasing interest rates to historic highs. Experts fear that central banks’ action, bond market upheaval, the Ukraine-Russia war and a surging dollar is likely to cause a balance of payments crisis in a number of nations and cause large vulnerable financial institutions to go under—factors that point toward an impending financial crisis.
More than 8 out of 10 CEOs expect a recession in the next 12 months, but over 50% expect it to be mild and short.
“We have had an opportunity to really focus on our employees — to be more open and honest about subjects including mental health and wellbeing. We’ve invested in training our people, pushing for change and updating skills to match our new innovations, digital service portfolio and changing customer needs. We want our people to move with us,” CEO of Ricoh Europe, Nicola Downing was quoted as saying.
“Fourteen percent of senior executives identify a recession among the most pressing concerns today — up slightly from early 2022 (9 percent), while pandemic fatigue tops the list (15 percent), the report added.
Despite concerns over a potential recession, 73% CEOs are more confident about the resilience of the economy than they were in February when FMCG last conducted the survey.
