© Thamonwan Chulajata | Dreamstime.com
A recent survey of Swiss finance bosses by the business services firm Deloitte shows bleak economic sentiment. 41% said they were pessimistic and around a quarter expect Switzerland to face a recession over the next two years. A majority foresee pressure on operating margins and cuts in discretionary spending, capital expenditure and staff numbers. Pessimism is largely driven by the continued strength of the Swiss franc – 70% see this as a risk. There are also concerns related to geopolitics and increasing Swiss regulation.
Significantly, 82% are planning personnel changes and 50% are considering reducing the size of their company’s workforce, siting the high cost of Swiss franc salaries as a reason.
The results of the 2015 second quarter survey are however an improvement on quarter one when 36% expected Switzerland to face a recession in the coming two years compared to a quarter in the recent survey.
At the other end of the spectrum, 16% of those surveyed in the second quarter expressed optimism.
Full survey (in English)
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