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SuisseSwiss and Rolex are the big job creators in 2023
The year promises to be good for Swiss workers. Many companies say they will create more jobs than they will eliminate.
The aviation and watch sectors are doing well, but the banks are cutting back.
Adrian Moser
After a terrible year 2022, marked by inflation and the energy crisis, many large employers are again creating jobs. With 264,069 advertised vacancies, the Swiss labor market currently has record supply. And this evolution should continue in the first quarter of 2023.
Booming air traffic
This is shown by a survey by the “SonntagsZeitung” of the country’s 90 largest employers. Among them, 34 want to increase the number of jobs, three face a massive downsizing, the rest expect a stable number of jobs.
No company is more optimistic than Swiss. The airline announces around 1,500 hires for the new year. Ground handling company Swissport, which created 475 new jobs last year, plans to increase the current workforce in Switzerland by 800 to 1,000 more employees by the summer.
The watches are fine, the banks less
There will also be a significant increase in jobs at Rolex. Without giving figures, the Geneva luxury watch brand explains that demand is so strong that it must massively increase its production. The watchmaking company plans to build a new factory in Bulle (FR) with 2,000 jobs.
Among the biggest job “killers” in 2023, the German-speaking Sunday newspaper cites the country’s two big banks: Credit Suisse and UBS. In trouble, Credit Suisse has announced that it will cut 2,000 jobs in Switzerland by 2025. UBS, which already reduced its sails last year by cutting out 453 jobs, should also continue its austerity cure. As for the pharmaceutical giant Novartis, it will cut up to 1,400 jobs in Switzerland over the next three years.
(cle)