Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss economy could lose up to CHF35 billion to pandemic

Swiss army knife production line
The negative impact of Covid-19 on Swiss foreign trade is not easy to predict. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Coronavirus will cost the Swiss economy CHF22 billion ($22.7 billion) in lost productivity in the best-case scenario, economists have warned. Losses could easily mount up to CHF35 billion between March and June.

A nationwide lockdown of non-essential high street shops and services has been accompanied by partial closures of industrial plants in some cantons. The KOF Swiss Economic InstituteExternal link calculates a productivity shortfall of CHF1.2 billion per week.

The retail, transport and hospitality sectors in particular are suffering from the consequences of the pandemic.

Much of the cost is being caused by the closure of companies and the effects of workers getting ill or being in quarantine, says KOF. But 44%-71% of the negative economic consequences of Covid-19 are likely to be caused by disruptions in trade with other countries.

“Even if the current strategy is successfully implemented, the economic costs for Switzerland will be largely determined by the international environment,” said Jan-Egbert Sturm, director of KOF. “Unless the crisis is contained globally, the economic problems in Switzerland will remain severe.”

The Swiss lockdown which began on March 17 will continue until at least April 19. But on Tuesday top Swiss health official Daniel Koch warned that “we are only halfway there, maximum.”

KOF has previously called on the government to do more to protect the economy during the pandemic. The government has so far set aside more than CHF60 billion to cover lost wages, issue emergency loans to companies and inject emergency funding into specific sectors.


More
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Weekly top stories

Keep up to date with the best stories from SWI swissinfo.ch on a range of topics, straight into your mailbox.

Weekly

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.


Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss army seeks to buy German howitzers

More

Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers

This content was published on The Swiss army wants to purchase new German armoured howitzers to replace its existing artillery system which has been in operation for over 50 years.

Read more: Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers
US opinion polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump virtually even ahead of the November 5 election.

More

Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

This content was published on Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.

Read more: Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR