Switzerland ‘not at risk of truck driver shortage’
The United Kingdom and the European Union are grappling with truck diver shortages that complicate economic recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Keystone / Joe Giddens
Unlike other Western European nations, Switzerland is not at risk of a supply chain crisis due to a lack of truck drivers, according to the president of a major logistics and transport company.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/ds
“The situation in Switzerland is significantly better than in the rest of Europe,” Rolf Galliker, president of Galliker transport AG told the German-language weekly SonntagsBlick in an interview published on Sunday.
“We have done our homework. Switzerland certainly does not have to fear supply shortages,” said the 56-year-old chairman of the company’s board of directors. He notes that many drivers will retire in Switzerland in the coming years and that it is a challenge to find good young talent, but that is the case across many trades.
The higher wages offered in Switzerland help drive recruitment but are not the reason why the Alpine nation is better off than other parts of Europe that are suffering supply chain chaos.
“The problems in Germany and other Western European countries have a different cause: for many years, transport companies there have hired almost exclusively low-cost drivers from Eastern Europe, leaving the ranks of local drivers to atrophy,” Galliker said.
It is now clear that this was not a sustainable strategy. “The quality of life in many Eastern European countries has risen,” Galliker noted. “As a result, fewer and fewer drivers are willing to be away from home for weeks at a time to drive trucks across Europe.
Young Poles today would rather become computer scientists than truck drivers and this led to loss of human capital now being felt by Western European transport companies.
Going forward, Galliker believes each country should try to train enough drivers to guarantee national logistics, an endeavour that typically takes years.
The Swiss Galliker Group employs more than 3,000 people. It has 21 branches in Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Slovakia.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
Swiss study: insects mainly migrate at midday and dusk
This content was published on
A study led by the Swiss Ornithological Institute in canton Lucerne is helping to better understand the movement patterns of migratory insects.
Red Cross: 22 staff killed in Middle East since October
This content was published on
The Red Cross and Red Crescent network in Gaza and Israel has lost 22 staff members since last October, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) said on Wednesday.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie in Champions League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
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.