Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The Swiss media devoted a large part of its coverage to the Winter Olympics, which opened on Friday. Some of heavy lifting is already done for the Swiss delegation, with gold in the flagship event.
Back home in Switzerland the news is less glorious with the relocation of an iconic Swiss brand, endless waits at Geneva airport and more bad news from Crans-Montana.
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Things have started well for the Swiss delegation at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games. On Saturday, Franjo von Allmen won gold in the main event of the Winter Olympics: the men’s downhill. But this event also had a bitter taste for the Swiss star of alpine skiing, Marco Odermatt, who finished outside the podium in fourth place. Another Swiss skier, Alexis Monney, finished a honourable fifth.
Franjo von Allmen managed to repeat his feat on Monday by winning a second gold medal with Tanguy Nef in the combined team event (downhill + giant slalom). This time, Marco Odermatt managed to win silver with Loïc Meillard.
Gold was also won in women’s skiing. Mathilde Gremaud won the ski slopestyle event. She thus retains her Olympic title won four years ago in Beijing. With this victory, Gremaud enters the Swiss Olympic legend territory, as she now has four Olympic medals. In addition to her two victories, she also won silver in ski slopestyle in 2018 and silver in Big Air in 2022.
But these Milan-Cortina Olympics are not without some disappointment for the Swiss team. We knew the women’s alpine ski team was in poor shape, especially because of injury. This has already been confirmed in the women’s downhill: none of the Swiss downhill skiers in the running managed to make it into the top 10.
The famous Swiss sewing machine company Bernina will relocate its production to Thailand. This decision had been anticipated for a few weeks already but it was confirmed by the director of the firm Kai Hillebrandt in the Sunday press.
Founded in 1893 in the canton of Thurgau on Lake Constance, Bernina is a true piece of Switzerland’s industrial history. But this story will soon end with the closure of the last factory in Switzerland. All production will be transferred to Thailand, where Bernina has had a factory since 1990. Only the company’s headquarters will remain in Switzerland.
The company’s Steckborn site currently employs 334 people. It will continue to handle marketing, research and development and IT activities. The announced restructuring will have consequences on jobs with about 40 positions cut. A precise figure as well as a possible redundancy plan will be communicated this month.
Bernina said it had to take this decision because of the strength of the Swiss franc against the dollar and the situation in the US market, which accounts for about three-quarters of its sales. The restructuring is expected to result in savings in the millions of dollars. This decision marks the latest step in a slow evolution: machines assembled in Switzerland have only represented a small fraction of Bernina’s catalogue for about 10 years.
The small memorial dedicated to the victims of Crans-Montana went up in smoke on Sunday. Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control and no one was injured. The fire is believed to have been caused by a candle and any intentional vandalism has been ruled out. The book of condolences was saved but the rest was removed. Another memorial is under construction. The incident is minor, but the symbolic significance is strong.
As for the actual bar fire investigation, the head of security in Crans-Montana was heard as a defendant. In office since 2024, he is expected to explain why no checks had been carried out in the Le Constellation bar since 2019. The official acknowledged that fire checks were delayed due to a faulty computer system and a lack of resources, saying he inherited an unmanageable situation that he was trying to put back in order.
According to the Sunday press, the computer problem did not only affect Crans-Montana, but the entire canton of Valais. It appears that the new software used to generate the security checks was set up by an IT specialist with severe psychiatric disorders. The latter was the cause of real chaos and even threats and blackmail attempts against the authorities. Finally arrested, he was placed in a psychiatric institution, but not tried because of his failing mental state.
The investigation by the Valais justice system is continuing under the critical eye of neighbouring countries. Present in Italy for the opening of the Olympic Games, Swiss President Guy Parmelin, visited the bedside of victims in hospital in Milan and presented the measures taken by Switzerland to Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Parmelin emphasised that the government does not intend to interfere in the case due to the separation of powers.
Foreign tourists from outside the European Union must be patient to get through customs at Geneva airport. In recent weeks, long queues have meant waiting for up to two and a half hours. The problem could get worse with the upcoming ski holidays.
These long waits are due to the introduction of the new European biometric system Entry/Exit System (EES) imposed in the Schengen zone to register non-EU travellers. The system requires fingerprinting and photographing, which greatly slows down passenger flow. Geneva airport has increased staff, but acknowledges that the current infrastructure is struggling to absorb these new procedures.
However, these difficulties are not unique to Switzerland. Several European airports have reported similar delays, and trade associations have warned of the operational impact of the system’s rollout. In some countries, implementation has even been delayed to avoid summer chaos, proof that the challenges are widely shared.
However, Geneva is particularly sensitive to the phenomenon because of its own structural constraints. Geneva-Cointrin airport is indeed cramped and very quickly saturated. In addition, it receives a high proportion of passengers from the United Kingdom, the United States and other third countries, precisely those subject to the new procedures.
Translated using AI/ac
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