Location under pressure

Upper Austria’s success model hanging by a “thread”

China is exporting products to Europe at full speed. "They are now filling our pockets," says Pierer.

"We've had three years of crisis, but we have to get out of this crisis mode now," says Upper Austria's Economic Councillor Markus Achleitner (ÖVP). Together with Stefan Pierer, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries Upper Austria, he calls for a realistic view of things.

Reduction of vacation credits, overtime, plus more and more agreements that provide for reduced working hours in combination with a lower salary - due to stuttering demand, more and more companies are being forced to reach for the ceiling.

The exodus from Europe has not yet begun, we are already in the midst of it.

Stefan Pierer, Präsident der Industriellenvereinigung Oberösterreich

"As the world's leading exporter, we filled everything up, but the picture has been changing for the last four or five years - China, for example, has brutally caught up and built up capacity. India is also slowly starting to wake up," says Stefan Pierer, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries.

Stefan Pierer (l.) and Joachim Haindl-Grutsch (r.) from the Federation of Austrian Industries Upper Austria with Markus Achleitner, Upper Austrian Minister of Economic Affairs.(Bild: IV OÖ/Pelzl)

In Europe, costs and regulations are clearly too high, while openness to technology and the pace of innovation are clearly too low, according to Markus Achleitner, Upper Austrian Councillor for Economic Affairs, who says with disillusionment: "Competition has increased enormously in other parts of the world."

Achleitner therefore calls for "us to take a realistic view of things again": "The willingness to perform must once again become a matter of course in our society. Anyone who believes that we can afford full-time prosperity with a part-time working model is mistaken."

"We need to initiate change"
According to Joachim Haindl-Grutsch, Managing Director of the Federation of Austrian Industries Upper Austria, "Upper Austria's successful export model is hanging by a thread": "We need to initiate a change."