A number of companies and organisations based in Switzerland have announced they will be laying off employees in 2026, or relocating jobs to other countries. We have a full – and continually updated – roundup of where the jobs will be lost.
Switzerland has long been known for its robust labour market, with consistently low unemployment rates.
But that will change in 2026.
Based on recent forecasts from the KOF Economic Institute, Swiss employment growth is projected to be slow and below average, with the unemployment rate expected to rise to 3.2 percent from the current 2.9 percent.
These companies and organisations will scrap jobs in 2026 and beyond:
Helvetia Baloise
The insurance group originally announced that it will eliminate between 1,400 and 1,800 jobs in Switzerland over the next three years.
This announcement follows the company merger in December 2025, in which the former company purchased the latter.
However, in March 2026, the number of redundancies was revised upwards: up to 2,300 jobs could be cut.
UBS
Some 3,000 UBS employees will lose their jobs in Switzerland, as part of the bank’s plan to fire 10,000 of its global workforce, Swiss media reported on Sunday.
The bank confirmed that it expects “approximately 3,000 job cuts in Switzerland.”
UBS has been reducing workforce as a result of the integration of former rival Credit Suisse, which it bought in 2023.
Novartis
The pharmaceutical giant plans to cut 550 jobs in Switzerland by the end of 2027.
Two of its plants near Basel will be affected by these redundancies, as the company needs to generate money to invest in “innovative therapies used particularly for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.”
READ ALSO: Novartis to cut 550 jobs in Switzerland to focus on cell therapy
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Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG/RTS)
The national broadcaster announced that it would cut some 900 jobs over the next three years as it strives to reduce costs.
It pointed to “major challenges,” including the Swiss government’s decision to cut the public media licence that provides a large chunk of its revenue, as well as falling commercial revenues.
“We regret these job cuts,” SRG chief Susanne Wille said in a statement, explaining that “the political decisions and the context in which our company operates leave us no other choice”.
READ ALSO: Swiss public broadcaster to slash 900 jobs by 2029
Kühne+Nagel
The Swiss logistics group is eliminating significantly more jobs than planned, the Schwyz-based company said.
It will scrap over 2,000 positions this year, up from 1,000 to 1,500 originally planned.
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Janssen
This subsidiary of the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, is withdrawing completely from vaccine development and production in Switzerland. The remaining activities will be transferred to the Netherlands by the end of 2026.
About 500 employees are expected to lose their jobs at the company’s Swiss headquarters in Bern.
Sunrise
The Swiss telecom announced 190 job cuts, including management positions.
The measure is being implemented “as part of ongoing organisational development,” the company said.
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Smood
A meal and grocery delivery service operated by Migros Geneva, will cease its operations on April 30th, 2026,
More than 400 employees in 25 Swiss cities will lose their jobs.
Galenica
The healthcare group Galenica is closing the Bichsel pharmaceutical production facility in Interlaken by the end of 2026 at the latest. Up to 170 jobs will be affected.
Tamedia
Due to the reorganisation of its print and digital divisions, the Tamedia media group will cut 25 to 30 full-time jobs this year.
IKEA
The retailer’s Swiss subsidiary said it could eliminate up to 60 administrative positions at its headquarters in Spreitenbach, Aargau.
The reason cited for these cuts is that “IKEA needs a simpler, more efficient, and more focused organisation.”
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International organisations
UN agencies in Geneva have already had to dismiss a number of employees as the US vowed to “end funding for certain United Nations organisations.”
And this trend will continue in 2026:
- At the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): 300 jobs will be relocated to Rome
- At the World Health Organisation (WHO), 800 people will be made redundant
These latest cuts are just the tip of the iceberg, however; other Geneva organisations have already felt repercussions of the US policy:
READ ALSO: How many jobs have been lost in Geneva’s international agencies?
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But that’s not all
A study carried out in October 2025 indicates that more than a third (37 percent) of companies could cut jobs in Switzerland over the coming 12 months, and a similar percentage (35 percent) are anticipating shifting Swiss jobs to other countries.
Among them is Switzerland’s biggest telecommunications operator, Swisscom.
As reported by 20 Minutes news platform, “many Swisscom IT jobs are to be relocated to Latvia and the Netherlands.”
In all, between 1,000 and 1,400 people are expected to be employed in Riga and Rotterdam in the medium term, where salaries are lower than in Switzerland.
Additionally, an industrial company, IHI Bernex AG, announced that it would eliminate most posts at its Olten (Solothurn) site, relocating 35 of 42 jobs to the Netherlands.
And due to the “economic burden” caused by the US tariffs, the sewing machine manufacturer Bernina, which generates about three-quarters of its sales in the United States, will be closing its plant in in Steckborn (Thurgau) and moving its production to Thailand.
Forty jobs will be cut in the process.
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What impact will this ‘industrial migration’ have on Switzerland?
If jobs are moved abroad, the logical effect would be an increase in unemployment.
But not only.
“This type of relocation could ultimately have an impact on the growth potential of the Swiss economy,” said UBS economist Maxime Botteron.
