Swiss companies are moving some of their jobs abroad, and an MP is calling for better security at Switzerland’s border with France — these are among the news that The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.
Number of Swiss companies plan to move their jobs abroad
Due to the strong franc and the steep US tariffs, many Swiss executives expect local jobs to be relocated to foreign countries.
A survey of executives shows that 37 percent are expecting their company to cut jobs in Switzerland over the coming 12 months, and a similar percentage (35 percent) are anticipating an increase in their headcount abroad, which indicates a shifting of jobs to other countries.
Some Swiss companies have already began the process of moving their operations – and jobs – abroad, while others are considering doing so.
READ ALSO: Swiss companies set to relocate thousands of jobs abroad, bosses fear
Calls for Switzerland to strengthen its border with France
Numerous retailers in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland have been targeted in recent years by criminals from France, prompting calls for stricter border checks.
Swiss police say there have been numerous incidents where gun dealers and jewellery shops were burgled, ATM machines blown up, and expensive cars stolen, all by criminals from over the border in France.
In view of these repeated offences committed by France-based criminals in neighbouring Swiss cantons, deputy Jean-Luc Addor, who represents the border canton of Valais in parliament, is calling for “reinstating of more stringent controls at our borders.”
READ ALSO: Calls in Switzerland to boost border controls with France after spike in crime
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British families criticise lax practices at a Swiss assisted dying clinic
A number of families from the UK have accused Switzerland’s Pegasus assisted death organisation of helping their loved ones die “without a proper medical justification.”
Furthermore, relatives of the deceased have denounced “rushed procedures and a lack of oversight”: some deaths were reportedly arranged in a matter of hours, sometimes even without adequate verification or proper information for families.
While Pegasus insists it follows the Swiss law to the letter, it also said that anyone coming to Switzerland to die must have already informed their family.
READ ALSO: Britons criticise ‘rushed procedures’ at a Swiss assisted dying clinic
Swiss students living in France won’t attend Geneva schools
Swiss families who live just across the border in France are up in arms about Geneva’s decision to ban their children from the canton’s public schools from the 2026 academic year.
Geneva authorities justify this move by citing demographic pressure and a shortage of school places.
Officials in neighbouring French communities retorted that by kicking out pupils, “Geneva is exporting the burden of schooling to France, while our schools are already under severe pressure in terms of capacity.”
READ ALSO: Geneva schools kick out Swiss kids living over border in France
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Euro falls to its lowest level against the franc
At 0.9210 francs, the euro has reached an unprecedented low against the famously strong franc – its lowest level ever recorded against the Swiss currency.
While this development is not good for Switzerland’s export-oriented industries, it benefits consumers, because shopping in eurozone countries will become even cheaper than before, as will vacationing abroad.
READ ALSO: What does Euro’s fall to historic low against Swiss franc mean for you?
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Swiss exports suffer due to US tariffs
Stiff US tariffs on Switzerland badly the country’s export-oriented industries in the third quarter.
Overall exports slipped 3.9 percent between the beginning of July and end-September, the federal customs service said — but the plummet in the value of goods dispatched to the United States was dramatic.
Swiss exports to the US for the quarter dropped 8.2 percent, as the country grappled with 39-percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which came into effect in August.
READ ALSO: Steep US tariffs hit Swiss exports hard, new figures reveal
