Skills shortage is ‘key threat’ facing businesses, Luxembourg CEOs say

Chief executives of companies in the Grand Duchy are worried about their ability to recruit staff with the right skills, but two in five plan to boost headcount this year, a poll published this week has found.

Firms in the Grand Duchy indicated progress on their plans to integrate AI technologies, but lagged behind in climate-friendly investments, according to PwC’s “CEO survey report 2025”, released on Wednesday.

More than a third (36%) of the Luxembourg CEOs who participated in the survey said the “lower availability of workers with key skills” was a “key threat” in the coming year, compared with roughly one-fifth globally.

Two out of five (43%) Luxembourg CEOs plan to increase staff levels in the Grand Duchy, on a similar level with the global average (42%). One in five (21%) Luxembourg CEOs plan to reduce headcount, compared to 17% worldwide.

More than half of CEOs in Luxembourg (55%) said they had “concrete” plans to integrate AI into their technology platforms, higher than the proportions in the US (43%) and Ireland (44%), but lower than in Hong Kong (57%) and UAE (60%).

The report showed that only three quarters of Luxembourg companies have “initiated climate-related investments in the past five years, one of the lowest rates globally”.

“The survey highlights how Luxembourg CEOs acknowledge mixed results in climate finance but very positive results on AI, key areas that are necessary for any long-term transformation and adaptation,” said Cécile Liégeois, clients & markets leader at PwC Luxembourg. “It is imperative that they intensify their efforts in these fields by taking a more hands-on approach to their firms’ climate investments.”

The survey polled 58 Luxembourg CEOs, two-thirds of whom led financial services firms. The global sample was 4,701 CEOs, with the survey carried out between 1 October and 8 November 2024.