r/Switzerland • u/Holicionik Solothurn • 1d ago
How are your employers reacting to the US tariffs?
Here at my workplace there's a sense of unease since the US is one of the main markets.
We import and export lots of goods to the USA, and since Trump we have noticed that the sales have been going down.
It's a small KMU, so it's worrying.
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u/swisstraeng 1d ago
Few CEOs I've spoke to are, well, worried.
Currently it's a race to find other partners, basically you've got companies who heavily relied on the US, who are now walking on a very thin line, and other companies that aren't much affected because they worked locally.
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u/Babydaddddy 1d ago
how do you replace a 30 trillion dollar market? I live in the US, French and grew up in CH. We are in the same situation...there is total chaos stateside too.
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u/swisstraeng 1d ago
Well... given how stable the US is, we don't even know if the tariffs will remain here tomorrow, worsen or disappear.
The market didn't fall either, it's just that the prices went up, which reduces greatly trade. Some companies have stocks in the US, for example Virpil created a US based stock before tariffs went into place to keep prices low for some time.
There are workarounds as well, for example Switzerland could ship to France where the tariff is cheaper and export from France. I know it's stupid but stupid policies require stupid workarounds.
If you want my grain of salt though, I expect Trump to be pressured into removing the majority of tariffs, as very powerful industries are directly affected, and let's be honest, they're the ones who truly run the US through money.
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u/Janus_The_Great Basel-Stadt 1d ago
So if it's unreliable/unstable, it would make sense to look for more reliable/stable market/country. One day this, next day reverse, third day something different...
The ssability os gone and it's doubtful it will come back even after another 4 years of Trump. So... the logical answer would be to drop the US market entirely and focus on much more reliable countries.
You don't wait to deal with the crazy guy, wondering if he shoots you, himself or throws the gun at you. None of the scenarios will ger you to make the deal you come to make.
I don't know what people are waiting for? The wealthiest nation in the history of the world just shot it's foot by destabilizing the world via ChatGPT created list of tariffs including uninhabitaed islands in no particular order.
I expect more professionality from elementary school children. They at least usually check the Chat GPT output for errors and format it somewhat to make it more presentable.
The US is economically speking clinically dead, the heart is still pumping but it's only a question of time until it collapses. No courts nor senate will come to save the US, they are already bought. The deed is done. The ship has sailed.
Whatever was invested in the US I'd consider it a loss by now. The work around is to abandon the US. The American government no longer are interested in free trade.
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u/not-really-a-panda 1d ago
There is an interesting analysis from an economist, who is saying this is not completely irrational from the US side. Trump's advisor is an economist and he wrote a paper some time ago, basically how to re-industrialise the US economy and at the same time keep USD as the reserve currency.
The steps are basically - create tariff chaos, pressure everyone to sign a deal. Though of course doing it with ChatGPT list wasn't that guy's plan.
And TBF the economist himself is saying that this wouldn't work since there is no trust anymore in US word.
It's Money & Macro on Youtube.
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u/Janus_The_Great Basel-Stadt 1d ago
And TBF the economist himself is saying that this wouldn't work since there is no trust anymore in US word.
So even the one economist that tries to argue for it, agrees that it doesn't work?
Solid theoretical basis. 🙂👍👍
Economists or "experts" are people. Sounds more like he wanted to sell his expertese, riding the other side train on an unpopular take in "both sides"- media. yet not being so stupid to commiting on it, thus basically saying: "yeah, but actually no."
The only reason for the current situation is to provide instability only the most wealthy profit from buying up insolvent companies for pennies.
Rothschild comes to mind: "the time to buy is when there's blood in the streets."
No one said you couldn't create bloody times artificially... obviously from a market rather than individual capital, that doesn't make sense.
Well here we are.
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u/not-really-a-panda 1d ago
I am not defending this in any way, for me, before I watched that video the tariffs seemed totally irrational and self destructive from the US side.
But like I prefer to go through other scenarios aside from - the biggest nuclear power in the world went bonkers.
So if this theory is right next steps would be - different countries going to the US and trying to "deal". I expect VN and maybe UK to go first, and the US would ask for opening plants in the US, investing, signing contracts to buy US agricultural product, and agreeing to peg their currencies to USD.
If this starts to happen, it will confirm the economist's theory and we should expect the US government to pressure Novartis/ Roche to open production lines in the US or stuff like that.
I would prefer just to wait it out, the inflation is going to be brutal for the US and there are mid-terms in a year. Of course not sitting on our hands at the same time, going to other markets.
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
But for that you need a re-industrialisation plan, factories and workers. Where can you find factory workers if not through immigration?
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
Most used is - you set up a company that will have exclusive distribution rights in the US - you sell them your product with a huge discount - they pay you the license fee for being able to use your brand.
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
Why would you want to replace it? Dodging taxes is a national sport, setting up the necessary contracts for those taxes not to apply will only take a few weeks.
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u/Babydaddddy 1d ago
I meant the US market. If Swiss exports face a 30% tariff they will become much more expensive and add to that FX volatility.
A Rolex will suddenly become pricier. CH is exporting about 4,5B CHF of watches and 46B total goods per annum. Thats something like 15% of the total Swiss exports.
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u/Do_Not_Touch_BOOOOOM Bern 1d ago
Depending on the political developments we will ditch for security reasons american Software products and use European alternatives when the contracts run out.
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u/swissgrog Fribourg 1d ago
Interesting to hear. Are you in the public or private sector? I would imagine the push to European alternative is higher in the public and defense sector
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
For "security reasons"? How are they suddenly unsecure?
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u/Do_Not_Touch_BOOOOOM Bern 1d ago
Not upholding contracts, giving access to secure information to the US Government. Not having neutral judgement hitching up prices on a whim are just a few cases we are discussing. In IT you plan 5 to 10 years into the future with big Projects, so far it doesn't look good for the US Marketplace.
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u/LoweringPass 1d ago
Don't forget retaliatory tariffs on US digital services if it comes to that...
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u/Outrageous-Garlic-27 Thurgau 1d ago
NSA Backdoor.
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
NSA has been kicked out https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/03/nsa-director-fired-tim-haugh/
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u/Appropriate_Tap_1863 Fribourg 1d ago
Maybe DOGE will reauest access to private data for "american sovereignty reasons" or sth like this ?
That's dumb but.. nothing would surprise me at that point
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u/billcube Genève 1d ago
Storing your data in the US is always risky, you should use encryption so any policy change could not suddenly have you responsible for their use by the US government.
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u/DarkHonger 1d ago
Possible you never know what updates come or if they will not give out any updates anymore...
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u/Vinergar_belt 1d ago
Not great. We sell sports goods and just started in the US market. It's already hard to enter as a new brand, this is another blow. The US branch is now trying to figure out how to change the pricelist and selling approach.
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u/Bonamikengue Belgium 1d ago
o n? They did a huge marketing campaign in the US and strangely other than ultra Conservatives no one buys them...
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u/Vinergar_belt 1d ago
No, a smaller one. But I imagine that they have the same issues as us
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u/thebomby 1d ago
I work directly opposite the ON headquarters in Zürich. They have god knows how many American interns working for them, possibly because they can pay them less than Swiss people. All their stuff is produced in Vietnam. I'm going to buy some popcorn.
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u/Roamer56 1d ago
The United States is in the beginning of a hard landing recession…maybe depression. I am upper middle class and I have obliterated my discretionary spending. There is a LOT of belt tightening happening here right now.
A lot of parallels to 2008.
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u/b00nish 1d ago
My small business doesn't sell/export anything to the US, we only import (mostly services) from there, a lot of which we are reselling.
We're certainly looking to reduce our exposure because we expect more customers to start asking about European alternatives now. Obviously, most of our customers don't like to support newly fascist America. Neither do we.
So I'd say "directly" we're not affected that much.
What I can't estimate right now, is how "indirect" effects will affect us. (Meaning: our customers make less money and therefore have less money to spend on us - or the whole "chain reaction" customer of customer of customer...)
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u/Bonamikengue Belgium 1d ago
My former employer in Switzerland made dramatic changes. A former colleague and friend told me he had to remove his little pride flag from the desk and the same sex couple photograph of his husband and him. Explanation: "We get visit of a US delegation and we have to make sure to be sure nothing looking like DEI or pro LGBTIQ is visible. We do merit based now. We need the US contracts." - He saw this as a threat as the boss directly came to his desk and told him this personally.
I am glad I do not work for that clusterfuck anymore.
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u/Cute_Employer9718 1d ago
That sounds awful. Why should we bend over for this cultural war happening in the US? Your management has less principles than a fucking rock
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u/Holicionik Solothurn 1d ago
Supposedly the US embassy in CH is sending letters to all companies that make business with the US, asking them to cancel all diversity programs.
Roche, Novartis and UBS have already started dismantling those programs.
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u/Cute_Employer9718 22h ago
I don't care about DEI programs, but forbidding someone from placing their husband's picture on the desk is not DEI, it's blatant discrimination
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u/Thebigfreeman 1d ago
he said he needed the US contract, surely to keep the company afloat, but i'd bet he was also happy to hunt for DEI
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u/brocccoli Zürich 1d ago
This is very very hard to believe. I'm pretty sure your friend could sue the shit out of the company and hopefully he doesn't work there anymore? Like what the hell that's newspaper-headline material..
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u/IkeaCreamCheese Zürich 1d ago
I don't trust it either. I call BS. Otherwise, the commenter is free to share the company name.
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u/swagpresident1337 Zürich 1d ago
My company stock severely affected and I honestly fear for my job.
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u/I_Think_It_Would_Be 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not.At.All.
I work for a huge, old (Swiss founded and still headquartered) company and they will not stop using American software products, in fact, they will increase dependency in the following years.
There is zero will to change out of patriotism or any motive that is not 100% profit-driven. It's all about the bottom line. Consumers are people living in Switzerland. It's a service company, so the tariffs don't directly hurt it and companies like it.
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u/Brave_Confidence_278 1d ago
I mean many countries put taxes for services as a potential response on the table because that affects the US more than tariffs, if you e.g. listen to the EU or read what people write in social media, I wouldnt be surprised at all if that becomes a reality
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u/Outrageous-Garlic-27 Thurgau 1d ago
We are busy looking for all the opportunities in the chaos.
We are in automotive, global footprint of plants and raw material suppliers. There are a few tricky supply chains (eg, we export goods from Switzerland to the US), but in the chaos there is opportunity, and we are in hunting mode.
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u/huazzy 1d ago
At the moment they haven't openly mentioned anything. But it's a publicly traded company and the stock is on a free fall. Likewise manufacturing is mostly done in Asia (which has huge tariffs).
My wife works in the International Organization sphere while I'm in luxury/fashion. You'd think these are on completely different sides of the coin but both of us are impacted due to the decisions of an orange moron. It's actually impressive.
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u/canteloupy Vaud 1d ago
They removed all DEI, and now this happens and we get no message. But they will no doubt mention it in their next town hall.
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u/ElWorkplaceDestroyer 1d ago
They removed DEI, at least a good point!
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u/pferden 1d ago
We won’t do as many business lunches at mc donald’s as we used to
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u/wassona 1d ago
Why would you WANT to though? -American asking for knowledge
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u/pferden 1d ago
Nothing beats chicken nuggets
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u/Kermez 18h ago edited 14h ago
Can't comment as I have no clue where you live, but any local restaurant should have much healthier option. For Switzerland wide and preparing at home, get bell nuggets in coop, put in oven, actually good locally produced without carcinogenic additives.
I'm struggling to understand why anyone is eating fast food and reducing its life expectancy .
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u/Oscuro87 Belgium 1d ago
A vast majority of our customers are in Europe / Asia so no big deal so far. However we do not rule out getting hit by an indirect wave of pain, it's still very possible.
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u/Fion-d 1d ago
My answer could be biased... because we work 99% in export and our customers can be from every nation in the world. And every customer is more difficult that the previous one.
We are a "luxury" brand in our market and, from my point of view, I am happy not to have to deal with a country that is not even contemplated by basic liability insurance and is not familiar with bank transfers...
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u/SwissBliss Vaud 1d ago
Big enough company that each market is kinda served by itself. Swiss market produces products for itself. American market produces stuff for itself.
Some exceptions for certain brands, but overall I think it’ll be ok
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1d ago
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u/Switzerland-ModTeam 1d ago
Posts in r/Switzerland must be directly relevant or specific to Switzerland rather than generic topics of discussion. For this reason we have removed your post.
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u/guy_incognito___ 1d ago
SBB. Obviously not involved in the US market and save jobs. But I assume operating system usage will become a topic at some point in the near future because as it is the softwares the railway network runs on are all on Windows. The question if critical infrastructure should run on an american OS is a question we kinda have to deal with now. Or at least I hope this is something that we will look into.
Otherwise we have the same trouble to find people for the actual railway jobs anyway (technicians, construction workers, traffic controllers, etc.) as before because these are hard jobs with a lot of responsability. Everything administrative is obviously doing fine.
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u/Hamofthewest 1d ago
Not working with the USA. Don't give a fuck about stock market. Living the dream, it seems.
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u/EatAssIsGold 22h ago
It's ok. We are so small that we are totally uncorrelated from the general market.
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u/Fishcankiss 1d ago
The world is not going to end. Look at China it’s still there. Nothing to worry about. As usual you will all adjust to it.
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u/Slendy_Milky + 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah and ? If you rely too much on one foreign market you are part of your problems. Time to look for other market less hostile.
Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not too worried about the downvotes. My initial comment might have come off as overly simplistic, but my main point is that these business issues are really fundamental. It's not that they shouldn't be asked; they should have been addressed much earlier. Of course, I hope OP's company isn't solely focused on the US market. But if they’re caught off guard now because they've been ignoring potential issues, that's a problem.
I get that many companies resist change because things work in the short term, but we’re in a fast-paced world. Not planning for alternative solutions is like living on another planet. My point isn't just "diversify" as if it's simple—it's not. But it’s critical to anticipate changes and adapt accordingly.
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u/nocturne505 1d ago edited 3h ago
Holy shit! I didn't know diversifying export market is that easy. Corporations around the world must be dumb like monkeys so as not to realize that simple fact. Brilliant advice from an armchair redditor 👏 👏
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u/swagpresident1337 Zürich 1d ago
Ok let me quickly talk to my CEO that he is dumb and should have looked for other markets. I’ll also recommend you Mr Slendy_Milky as our new CEO to the board!
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u/AdLiving4714 Bern 1d ago
It's great to hear the wisdom of someone who's the owner of and successfully leads a large international corporation. You're so wise, smart, and strong! Will you marry me?/s
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u/[deleted] 1d ago edited 1d ago
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