Tag Archives: Business & Economy

On 10 June 2022, Switzerland’s government adopted the latest set of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including an embargo on crude oil and certain refined petroleum imports from Russia. © Ys7485 | Dreamstime.comThe sanctions are the sixth package and were adopted by the EU on 3 June 2022. An embargo on oil imports from Russia by sea will be introduced progressively from early December 2022, and a ban on all Russian oil imports will then start two months later. Around 40% of the...

As the cost of living rises in Switzerland some are calling for pay increases. Guy Parmelin, Switzerland’s economics and education minister, says it is the responsibility of unions to negotiate pay rises, reports RTS. In an interview with the newspaper SonntagsBlick, Parmelin said it’s up to unions to negotiate wage rises. The government should not get involved in talks between unions and employers, he said. However, if required, the federal government could make adjustments to welfare...

On 7 June 2022, Swiss International Air Lines announced that around 2% of passengers on scheduled flights to destinations in Germany, Poland, UK and Los Angeles would be affected. A SWISS spokesperson said that bottlenecks at air control centres, ground and airport services in Europe and at SWISS were to blame. Personnel shortages at the airline are also reducing capacity. SWISS said around 10,000 passengers would need to make other travel arrangements while around 20,000 others would...

On 9 June 2022, Switzerland’s government announced that SWISS had repaid the loans the Confederation had guaranteed at the end of May 2022, ending the arrangement with no loss of public funds. After the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the aviation industry, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided in spring 2020 to provide support in the form of guarantees to the airlines SWISS and Edelweiss to bridge liquidity shortfalls. Banks granted SWISS and Edelweiss a credit line of up to CHF 1.5...

Rules related to personal bankruptcy in Switzerland are tough compared to many countries. In effect, they give heavily indebted individuals breathing space rather than a clean slate. This week, Switzerland’s government put forward a plan to soften the rules. © Andranik Hakobyan | Dreamstime.comTo initiate personal bankruptcy proceedings (technically insolvency proceedings) in Switzerland requires funds of around CHF 5,000 to cover the costs of the court and other agencies to restructure...

Swisscom’s telephone network went down on Tuesday for 30 minutes, reported RTS. On Tuesday 3 May 2022 between 22:23 and 22:53 customers across Switzerland using Swisscom’s fixed and mobile networks were unable to access the internet. According to Swisscom, the outage was related to maintenance work. Much to the frustration of football fans the outage occurred during the semi-final of the champions league football match between Villarreal and Liverpool. More on this:RTS...

A survey published on 2 May 2022 shows a marked weakening of consumer sentiment in April in Switzerland. Consumers’ outlook for the general economic situation has turned far more pessimistic, said Switzerland’s State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO). © Marlon Trottmann | Dreamstime.comIn April 2022, the consumer sentiment index plunged to -27, well below the long-term average of −5, marking the biggest decline since the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. Swiss...

Last year, Christmas and Swiss national day (1 August) fell on weekends. Switzerland’s unions are calling for compensation for these “lost” holidays, reports the newspaper 20 Minutes. Photo by Catarina Sousa on Pexels.comIn Switzerland, when public holidays fall on weekends no extra day off or extra pay is provided by employers. Swiss unions are calling for these missed holidays to be added to annual leave. 80 countries have such a system, including England, Belgium, Luxembourg and...

Statistics published on 26 April 2022 show health expenditure in Switzerland rose to CHF 9,648 (US$ 10,8001) per person in 2020, making Switzerland (probably) the second biggest per-capita healthcare spender in the world – the OECD has not yet published 2020 expenditure for the US, which is typically the world’s highest spender. Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.comHealthcare spending rose 1% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The rise in...

Swiss ski resorts bounced back in 2021/22 after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the industry hard, reports the Swiss association of mountain lift operators. © Jill Meyer | Dreamstime.comMarch 2022 was a particularly good month for the sector. Dry sunny weather combined with the ending of Covid-19 restrictions led to a 32% year-on-year jump in the number of mountain lift tickets sold and a 37% increase in sales. Over the 2021/22 winter season, ticket numbers (+15%) and sales (+19%) were both...