Ever wondered how much the chief executives of Switzerland’s largest firms earn? A new study sheds light on their income – and how it compares to the lowest earners at their companies.
The wage gap between those who take home the highest pay and average earners remains strong in Switzerland.
The CEOs of Switzerland’s largest companies earned an average of 18 percent more in 2024 than the year before, according to a new study on wage gaps carried out by the Unia trade union.
Average wages in Switzerland only rose by 1.8 percent during the same period, reported the study.
What CEOs actually earn
The report, called ‘Top salaries continue to rise, minimum wages at risk,’ showed how much CEOs actually earn compared to their workers.
The chief executives of the 39 largest Swiss corporations – including Novartis, UBS, Roche, and Nestlé – earned an average of 143 times more than their lowest-paid employees.
The most striking example is Basel-based pharmaceutical multinational Novartis.
The annual income in 2024 of Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan was CHF 19.2 million – around 333 times higher than the lowest employee salary of 57,700 Swiss francs at the firm.
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Galderma CEO Flemming Ørnskov saw an annual salary of CHF 19 million last year, which was 298 times more than the lowest salary.
David Layton, CEO of Partners Group, earned 16.9 million Swiss francs – a huge 328 times more than employees who earn the least at the firm.
Meanwhile, UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti’s pay packet last year was 14.9 million. That’s 276 times more than the lowest UBS salary in 2024, amounting to 54,000 Swiss francs.
In nine of the 10 companies in Switzerland with the highest salaries, bosses took home a pay rise in 2024. The average maximum salary was 13.2 million Swiss francs.
The study also notes that dividend payments to shareholders in 2024 would have amounted to CHF 46 billion for the 39 companies surveyed. And many shareholders would also have benefited from share buybacks.
“This makes it clear that companies have more than enough money to pay wages for everyone – and especially those who are the worst paid,” Unia said in the report.
READ ALSO: Which jobs in Switzerland will see wages rise in 2026?
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How does this compare to a Swiss median salary?
The trade union also compared the highest incomes with median wages in Switzerland.
The report estimated the nationwide median wage at around CHF 84,000.
“A person with this income would have to work for 228 years to earn the annual salary of the Novartis CEO,” the study found.
The ratio between the highest and lowest salaries across all 39 companies surveyed is 1:143 on average. This is slightly less than last year, when the difference was 1:150. However, the gap has been increasing over a number of years.
Unia union president Vania Alleva called for change. She told Swiss newspaper Blick: “It’s still far too much, it’s downright absurd!”
To reduce the wage gap, the trade union is calling for a general wage increase of 2 to 2.5 percent, and higher minimum wages of 4,500 Swiss francs for unskilled workers and CHF 5,000 for employees with an apprenticeship certificate.
She said these aims “would be justified and possible”.
READ ALSO: Where in Switzerland has the highest minimum wage?
But pay expert Timon Forrer from the consulting firm Kienbaum said Unia’s demands are unrealistic.
“Our salary development forecast, based on a company survey, predicts (a wage increase of) 1.3 percent, which is above our expectations given an inflation forecast of 0.5 percent,” he said. In view of economic and geopolitical events, Forrer believes that the actual wage increase in Switzerland could even be lower.
