More people continue to be affected by job cuts in Switzerland; sharp increase recorded in number of flu cases; and other news in our roundup on Friday.
The wave of job cuts continues in Switzerland
In what appears to be a never-ending wave of redundancies, yet another company has announced it would be eliminating hundreds of local positions.
This time it is not a Swiss company, however, but a US pharma giant Pfizer, which is planning to shrink its Switzerland-based workforce from 300 to 70 employees by the end of the year as part of its global cost-cutting program.
READ MORE: Where are all the jobs set to be lost in Switzerland in 2026?
UPDATE: Switzerland experiences a ‘sharp increase’ in flu cases
After an early start of the flu season at the end of November, more and more people in Switzerland are getting sick with the influenza virus.
“The threshold for consultations for influenza-like illnesses and the virological threshold for the positivity rate were exceeded during week 49 [the first week of December], according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
It added that “all reporting systems currently indicate a sharp increase in influenza activity.”
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Housing shortage: the increase in supply is not keeping up with demand
Though the number of vacant apartments advertised in Switzerland has been going up in recent years, they are being rented out in just a few days.
Consequently, demand remains higher than supply, and the market situation is not easing, according to the Online Housing Index (ILL).
And the differences between regions are clear.
Rental properties are snapped up fastest – in just 14 days – in Geneva and Zug, In Zurich, it takes on average just a bit longer for an apartment to be rented out – 16 days.
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Ahead this weekend:
On Sunday, December 14th, the new Swiss (SBB) timetable goes into effect
As it does each year on the second Sunday of December, the SBB will change its schedule for 2026 on this day.
Not only will the train timetable change across the national network, but that of the entire public transport system will be modified as well, so that it will be coordinated with the trains’ arrival and departure times at all stations throughout Switzerland.
READ ALSO: The changes to Swiss train schedules you should expect in 2026
READ ALSO: The public transport changes to expect in Switzerland’s biggest cities in 2026
