Swiss companies are preparing for partial unemployment due to US tariffs; an initiative to be launched in Zurich seeks car-free zones; and more news in our roundup on Monday.
US tariffs: Swiss industry prepares for the risk of unemployment
Since the United States decided to levy 31-percent tariffs on imports from Switzerland, a handful of Swiss companies have already requested short-time work compensation — a system where unemployment insurance temporarily covers a proportion of the salary costs of businesses whose employees are affected by reduced hours.
The aim is to prevent job losses as a result of unavoidable, short-term work stoppages.
While only a few companies have taken these steps so far, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) expects the number to increase in the coming weeks.
Zurich initiative aims to get rid of cars, except where “strictly necessary”
Could Switzerland’s largest city become (almost) car-free?
That is what a new initiative, to be launched on May 1st, will be seeking.
Specifically, its goal is for the municipal authorities to “make the urban area as largely car-free as possible.”
“We don’t want to ban anyone from driving a car,” said Sonja Roth, a member of the initiative committee.
However, motorised journeys should be limited to what is “strictly necessary,” she said; to that end, “large car-free zones should be created” throughout Zurich.
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Solar power is now being generated on a railway line
The first section of the railway in Switzerland with solar panels installed between the tracks has been inaugurated in the Val-de-Travers in canton Neuchâtel.
The pilot project comprises 48 solar panels stretching over the 100 metres of tracks.
The idea behind this project is that in order to expand renewable energies, solar panels should be laid on the already existing infrastructure — as it is already done with roofs and facades of buildings — rather than on empty land.
It is not yet known when (or whether) this system will be expanded along other railroad tracks in the country.
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The Grand St. Bernard Pass reopened to traffic on Saturday
The avalanche that broke out on April 17th near the Toules tunnel, on the Swiss side of the Grand-Saint-Bernard, damaged the road over a length of approximately 300 metres, forcing its closure.
Repair works have now been completed and the road was reopened to traffic on Saturday evening, April 26th, the Federal Roads Office announced.
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