The director of an IT company in Elsbethen in Salzburg is hit by the fluctuating global economy. The 49-year-old Karl Lueger describes the situation in his company. And he also sees an opportunity in the crisis.
“The fat years are over,” says Karl Lueger. The software developer is directly influenced by the current economic crisis. To what extent? As an IT service provider, he is one of his customers on top companies in the car industry. The entrepreneur and his employees develop and check, among other things, control units for cars. Explains short: if you get into a car, you want everything to work safely. Lueger and his team develop the software to guarantee this. But times are difficult.
“At the moment it is the case that when Trump coughs in America, we feel the pressure wave a week later.” What is meant is that one minute until the other it can be that his customers shorten 50 percent of an order. When the American president suddenly introduces rates and sinks the shares, Lueger gets the news a week later: “Project is shortened.” In his area, three suppliers have gone bankrupt in recent months.
“Employees currently earn more than me”
Turnover has fallen to 50 percent. “I work twice as much so that we can get through,” says De Pucher. The director has not paid anything for half a year. “I am currently living on savings, my employees are currently earning more than me,” he says.
The 49-year-old computer scientist has been self-employed since 2014. “I have never experienced times like now. And I think it has not yet been reached. We can only plan two months in advance.”
Despite the tense situation, he remains positive: “I think the crisis is a chance. The IT industry has gone too well. If you can adjust, that is good and is liquid and we notice that you just have to work for money, this crisis will survive.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
