Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

This Friday is Black Friday, which has become a tradition in Switzerland as in many other countries. To mark the occasion, money and consumption will feature prominently in this selection of the news.

Otherwise, we have more on the main subjects on the agenda for the upcoming winter parliamentary session, which starts on Monday.

Happy reading!

Keystone / Til Buergy

This Friday, many Swiss residents are succumbing to the consumer-driven charms of Black Friday. This was originally an American invention but has also grown into a tradition in Switzerland.

The first Black Friday offers were launched in Switzerland in 2007. Eight years later, Manor became the first major retailer to take part, achieving sales three times higher than for a normal Friday. Today, over 200 brands and retail chains are taking part in the event in Switzerland.

Despite its apparent success and the omnipresent advertising, Black Friday is losing momentum in Switzerland, according to an opinion poll. The main criticism is that Black Friday offers are less attractive than in the past. Only 7% of those questioned said they were fully satisfied with the offers.

According to the specialist website blackfridaydeals.ch, which commissioned the survey, Black Friday sales in the non-food retail sector are expected to hit CHF470 million this year, CHF20 million less than last year. On the other hand, online sales are up from CHF115 million to CHF120 million.

The success of Black Friday in e-commerce is obviously putting pressure on logistics in certain sectors. Just one figure illustrates the scale of the phenomenon: the 1,000 or so people working in the Digitec Galaxus warehouses are working overtime and taking extra shifts in order to send out 90,000 packages a day. 

• The main results can be found on WatsonExternal link
• In the bowels of the Digitec Galaxus warehouses on SRF External link(in German)

Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The business magazine Bilan has just published its traditional annual ranking of the 300 richest people in Switzerland. The top of the list remains unchanged: Gérard Wertheimer, owner of Chanel, and his brother Alain.

In second place is the Hoffmann, Oeri and Duschmalé family, which controls the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant Roche. The podium is once again completed by the nonagenarian Klaus-Michael Kühne, majority shareholder in the Schwyz-based transport and logistics group Kühne Nagel. Among the better-known names, the Blocher and Bertarelli families remain in the top 10.

Overall, the wealth of the 300 richest people in Switzerland has risen sharply to CHF833.5 billion, an all-time high. This positive overall trend was driven by a boom in the stock and property markets, two classic areas of investment for the super-rich, explains Bilan.

• The top 10External link richest people in Switzerland on the Blick website
• A ranking of the top 300 wealthiest people on SBC websites françaisExternal link, allemandExternal link and italienExternal link

Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

On Monday, members of parliament will return to the federal parliament in Bern. Various debates during the three-week winter session should be of particular interest to the Swiss Abroad.

The electronic identity (e-ID) could soon see the light of day. The final differences between the two chambers of parliament should be ironed out. An electronic identity will give the Swiss Abroad better access to federal services, as well as to Swiss banks.

The debate on abolishing discrimination against Swiss citizens in terms of family reunification will also be of interest to the Swiss Abroad. The House of Representatives has already adopted the bill. But the Senate has rejected it. The House of Representatives must vote on it again.

More generally, the debate on the 2025 budget will be one of the highlights of this session. Given the drastic savings plan announced by the Federal Council a few months ago, the discussions are likely to be particularly fierce.

• The highlights of the winter session presented on SWI swissinfo.ch (in French)

Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Stress and burnout at work are “increasingly alarming” in Switzerland. These are the findings of a study presented on Friday by the trade union Travail.Suisse.

The annual Working Conditions Barometer shows that feelings of stress at work are constantly rising. It now affects 42.4% of respondents, compared to 37.8% in 2016. Another striking point is that more than a third of those questioned say they are too exhausted after work to look after their family, for example.

Stress affects almost all professional sectors, but particularly the IT, retail, financial and health and social sectors. According to the study, more than 770,000 people employed in Switzerland are thinking of changing jobs next year because of excessive pressure.

Fear of losing your job, on the other hand, has fallen. It now concerns only 41.1% of respondents, compared to 51.4% in 2018. This can be explained by the low unemployment rate and the current labour shortage.

• Presentation of the results of the study on Swiss public television, RTSExternal link (in French), on RSIExternal link (in Italan) and SRFExternal link (in German)
• Information with documentsExternal link from Travail.Suisse

Keystone / Martial Trezzini

Switzerland in pictures

Skaters from the Geneva skating club give a demonstration during the inauguration of the facility in the Bastions Park. Inaugurated on Thursday, the temporary ice rink installed by the Geneva city authorities will be open from Tuesday to Sunday until March 2, 2025.