Austria's Chamber of Commerce Slashes 200 Roles as Membership Dues Face Overhaul

WKÖ plans 200 job cuts by 2027 to save €100M yearly from 2030, reduce member fees; works council angered by lack of social plan, politicians call reforms insufficient.

Vienna – The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) plans to cut 200 of its 800 full-time positions at its Vienna headquarters by the end of 2027, President Martha Schultz announced on Tuesday. The restructuring aims to reduce operational costs and pass savings back to member businesses through lower compulsory contributions.

The central reform target: an annual cost reduction of €100 million starting from 2030. Those savings, identified by consulting firm KPMG, will primarily flow into lowering the so-called “Kammerumlage 2” (KU2) – the fee that companies pay the chamber. The WKÖ, which employs about 5,500 staff across the entire organisation and generates over €1.3 billion in yearly revenue, says the cuts are necessary to slim down and refocus.

Job reductions begin in the second half of 2026 and will roll out gradually. Apprentices and trainees are exempt from the wave of layoffs. The cuts apply only to the federal body – specialised professional associations and subsidiary companies remain untouched, though the nine regional state chambers must now evaluate their own cost-saving measures.

At the leadership level, the General Secretariat shrinks from four members to two. Secretary-General Eva-Maria Liebmann will leave for the Styrian chamber; her position will not be refilled. Thomas Spann takes charge of steering the transformation process.

Besides personnel, the WKÖ is scrapping projects deemed non-essential. The digital training platform “Wise up” will shut down. The think tank “Oecolution” – originally launched by a government state secretary and bankrolled by the chamber – is also closing. Schultz stated the organisation intends to concentrate on core tasks.

Works council anger over missing social plan

Internal reaction has been tense. After a staff meeting on Wednesday, works council chair Andreas Taust described the mood as “extremely depressed.” A social plan covering the 200 affected employees has not yet been presented. Labour representatives accuse management of failing to involve them early enough. Schultz maintains the layoffs will be handled “socially responsibly” through natural turnover and retirements, but concrete details on severance or support packages remain absent.

Political crossfire: too little or misdirected?

The announcement drew mixed responses from Austria’s political parties. The far-right FPÖ, the Greens and the liberal NEOS broadly welcomed the reduction in bureaucracy, but all deemed the moves insufficient or poorly targeted.

The Greens pointed to a potential €175 million in total savings if the chamber pursued a broader consolidation. FPÖ and NEOS criticised that the cuts concentrate on the Vienna headquarters while leaving the nine state chambers largely unchanged. Moreover, they argue that cutting the KU2 does not benefit 95% of chamber members, who operate as sole proprietors and are not subject to that particular levy.

The restructuring coincides with a leadership transition: former President Harald Mahrer stepped down in November 2025. Austria’s Court of Audit (Rechnungshof) is currently reviewing the organisation’s finances.