Swiss supermarket chain plays down job loss rumours

Migros: “The job cuts will certainly not number in the thousands” Keystone-SDA

A planned merger of the regional co-operatives at Swiss supermarket chain Migros will not cost thousands of jobs, according to chair Mario Irminger.

“Incorrect figures are circulating in the media,” he told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). “It is certainly not a matter of thousands of jobs. These estimates are probably based on an analysis of the merger with Coop that took place 25 years ago, but the situation at Migros is different.”

The SonntagsZeitung has suggested potential annual savings of between CHF300 million and CHF400 million, resulting from 3,000 job cuts. Based on its own calculations, the NZZ estimates that 400 to 600 administrative jobs could be shed.

“At the moment, I don’t wish to comment on a figure like that,” Irminger said. “One thing is certain: at management and administrative level, we will be phasing out parallel structures over time. At Migros Supermarkets, we employ 55,000 staff, and if we take staff turnover within the group into account, we’re talking about 10,000 vacancies that we need to fill every year.”

“Our concern is that we may not have enough specialists to manage our business.”

Irminger will be leaving the company next summer. “The last few months have been very intense. The transformation will continue beyond my retirement,” he said.

For the merger proposal to be approved, the consent of all ten regional co-operatives is required with a two-thirds majority and a 25% turnout.

+ How we produce news in English
Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist. 

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