Due to mass layoffs in Lucerne, over 100 people lose their jobs; a Swiss initiative seeks to tax air fares in order to boost rail travel; and more news in our Wednesday roundup.
Mass layoffs in Lucerne: Over 100 people lose their jobs
Employees at two companies – 112 in all – are affected by these redundancies: Andritz Beutler AG in Gettnau will lay off 50 employeses, and Serge Ferrari Tersuisse SA in Emmenbrücke, 62.
Both measures stem from decisions made by foreign parent companies.
This announcement on Tuesday came on the heels of job cuts at the credit card provider Swisscard, which said on Monday that 40 jobs will be slashed at the company’s Zurich office , effective on May 1st.
READ MORE: The companies in Switzerland that are cutting jobs in 2026
An initiative seeks to tax air fares to boost rail travel
A broad alliance of environmental organisations and left-wing parties, led by the association called actif-trafiC, launched the “Mobility Voucher Initiative” on Tuesday.
It is aiming to strengthen public transport within Switzerland, and expand rail connections toward neighbouring countries through a tax imposed on airline tickets.
The tax would range from 50 to 500 francs, with modalities still to be determined.
Revenues from this measures are estimated at approximately 1.5 billion francs per year, with at least two-thirds of this amount to be converted into public transport vouchers.
Nigerian romance scam gang is dismantled in Switzerland
Ten men were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a Nigerian gang perpetrating “romance scams – that’ is, duping woman into giving them money by promising relationships.
Searches were conducted across six cantons.
The operation, led by the Zurich Public Prosecutor’s Office, was preceded by intensive police investigations carried out by the Zurich cantonal and municipal police forces.
These investigations targeted members of a Nigerian group suspected of being involved in various criminal activities, including scamming women for money.
Neuchâtel is the first Swiss canton to ban releasing of balloons
The ban, which covers both conventional and paper hot-air balloons (the so-called ‘sky lanterns’), is being put in place for environmental and fire safety reasons.
“This ban may seem trivial, but releasing balloons into the atmosphere amounts to scattering plastic waste into the environment,” said Green MP Cloé Dutoit, the lead signatory of the legislative proposal.
As for sky lanterns, “they pose a fire risk that should not be underestimated, particularly during the summer,” she noted.
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