Minister looks into cutting 7% of government jobs

The cabinet now needs to reflect on where it can make savings Keystone

The cabinet has been tasked with coming up with a plan to shave CHF300 million ($336 million) from government staff costs. Up to 2,600 jobs could be affected, according to Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

In an interviewExternal link with the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper, the minister said she would be presenting three cost-cutting scenarios in September, following the move by parliament.  

“Such a reduction in jobs would not be done over a few months,” she warned, adding also that relying on natural wastage of about 3% would not add up to the savings proposed.

Cuts of this size would impact on services provided by the federal administration and changes would involve modifying laws in parliament, after long consultation procedures, she said.

Any proposals presented this year would not be expected to come into force before 2016.

The move follows a parliamentary discussion on consolidating services.

There are around 33,000 jobs within the administration.