FHI Corona Survey: 40 percent of members are in economic difficulties due to the corona crisis

FHI has conducted a survey on the economic impact of the corona crisis on all companies within our technology sectors. This shows that 40 percent of members are currently experiencing problems due to the corona crisis. Another 40 percent expect to encounter economic difficulties in the near future.

FHI has sent a survey to its members to gain more insight into the consequences of the corona crisis. Four corona-related questions were asked. These questions were about the (expected) problems in business operations and to what extent government support measures are being used.

FHI has five branches in total. Some industries are more affected than others. For example, more than a quarter of the members of the Medical Technology sector do not expect any problems, but at Building Automation almost everyone has or is expected to have problems.

The corona problems mainly lie in lower turnover and fewer orders. It is also unclear how the corona crisis will develop further. For example, a problematic period is expected in the services sector. In the Industrial Electronics sector, members are reducing staff the most. This mainly concerns flexible employees.

The NOW scheme is used most in the various sectors. It is striking that for many companies turnover has slumped in the first two quarters, but this is not enough to qualify for this scheme. The decline in turnover will become greater for many companies from June onwards, it is expected.
It is still too unclear for members what measures the government will take in the coming period. The call for more clarity in this is clear. Based on expectations, the consequences of the crisis will manifest themselves later.

The expectation in a number of sectors is that this lag effect will be even greater. They expect the crisis to last longer and the effects to only become visible in 2021-2022. This could include a delay in new construction, which companies within the Building Automation sector will feel the most next year. This also partly applies to Industrial Automation, where there is also a lag effect due to longer lead times for machine and equipment construction.

FHI remains committed to continuous news provision and support for our industry members at this time, because the consequences will certainly still be visible next year.