Hardship funds boosted for struggling Swiss companies
The Swiss government is adding an additional CHF300 million ($330 million) in hardship payments to help small companies cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The hardship allocation is two-thirds funded by the government and one-third by cantons. On Friday, the government added an extra CHF300 million from its CHF1 billion reserve fund to be distributed to various cantons.
Lost sales
In addition to releasing funds, the government says the payments of up to CHF1.5 million per company will now cover up to 30% of lost sales, as opposed to the previous benchmark of 20%.
A special hardship rule has also been created for the smallest companies, which the government says should cost no more than CHF500 million.
Parliament has made tens of billions of francs available to cushion the effects of the pandemic in various ways. Some of this money will be issued in loans and is expected to be paid back.
Pro-Palestine uni protests to be debated in Swiss parliament
This content was published on
The Swiss People’s Party says it will launch two postulates calling for clarifications about the recent student protests and occupations.
This content was published on
A 36-year-old man from Ticino lost his life on Saturday in Val Malvaglia, in the north of canton Ticino, during a wingsuit jump from a plane.
Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church numbers dropping in French-speaking Switzerland
This content was published on
As in German-speaking Switzerland, the number of members of the Reformed Church in French-speaking Switzerland is also declining.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 20km during holiday weekend
This content was published on
The traffic jam at the Gotthard north portal reached a length of 20 kilometres on the motorway between canton Nidwalden and canton Uri.
Swiss Interior Minister visits Cannes Film Festival
This content was published on
Swiss Interior Minister left the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday after three days of intensive dialogue, meetings and film screenings.
Swiss theatre director breaks with tradition at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
This content was published on
With the proclamation of the "Free Republic of Vienna", the start of the festival on Friday evening was unusually political.
Pandemic costs CHF11 billion in temporary unemployment payments
This content was published on
Covid-19 cost Switzerland CHF11 billion in short-time working payments last year, with around 20% of the money helping to prop up the gastronomy sector.
Covid-19: More than 40,000 catering jobs lost in 2020
This content was published on
More than 40,000 people in the Swiss hospitality and catering industry lost their jobs last year owing to Covid-related closures.
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.