CFOs Sing the Blues | Global Finance Magazine

European CFOs face mounting economic uncertainty, shifting priorities toward cost discipline and resilience.

A Deloitte CFO survey conducted in April showed that 48% of respondents are less optimistic about their companies’ prospects than they were six months earlier. Their pessimism in autumn 2025 was limited to 25%.

Economic uncertainties explain that state of mind: 76% of respondents put energy shocks, inflation, the conflict in the Middle East, and disruption of the supply chain at the top of their risk list.

“CFOs across Europe are entering the second half of 2026 with a noticeably more cautious outlook,” said Richard Muschamp, Deloitte EMEA CFO program leader, attributing their pessimism to “a more challenging operating environment.” EY’s CEO Outlook found similar concerns, with 60% of these respondents citing geopolitical tensions as a near-term risk.

“The real question is, What are you doing about it?” said Myles Corson, EY global finance leader. “CFOs need to build resilience into their organization.” In the short term, that means localizing the supply chain, with a focus on energy security and energy pricing. “Leaders are increasingly prioritizing resilience, productivity and cost discipline over expansion and risk-taking” he said.

According to the Deloitte survey, only 26% of CFOs expect to increase capital expenditures over the next 12 months, and 36% anticipate workforce reduction. Consumer goods sectors, impacted by the slowdown of demand, are at the forefront of the workforce adjustment. Unilever PLC declared a hiring freeze that would last at least three months. In Germany, luxury car maker Porsche AG announced one in five job cuts by 2035, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it will eliminate 4,000 white-collar roles by 2030.

In France, executives at the industrial engineering firm Fives Group see no immediate need to downsize. Defense and aeronautic clients, warehouses in need of automatization, industries looking for decarbonization, keep Fives busy. Still “10% of our activities have been impacted,” said Suresh Abye, the finance director. “We are very vigilant about our costs structure. In that sector we stopped recruiting and transferred some employees to different activities.”

Fives has clients in a dozen countries, including France, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, and America. “Compared to America and Asia, Europe is the most impacted by inflation, unemployment, and tepid demand,” added Abye. “The regulatory framework is too laborious and there is no policy favoring local producers.”

Nevertheless, Europe also has a few tricks up its sleeve. Corson highlighted the “quality of its talent pool, the diversity of the market, and its focus on sustainability.”

To take full advantage of these strengths, the EY finance leader suggested maintaining investments in artificial intelligence. “Companies will be able to identify where opportunities are, they will adjust quicker and be able to repurpose their people” said Corson, an eager advocate of cost optimization.

Caroline Crosdale is a contributing writer to Global Finance.