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Winterthur’s Kistler Company is one of the so-called hidden champions of the Swiss economy. Its measurement technology is top-notch, Formula 1 teams also rely on the technology of the Canton of Zurich. However, a measure that patron Rolf Sonderegger requires of his 1,600 employees to ensure the economic survival of the company is not very masterful.
The majority shareholder Sonderegger sends its employees to llast two weeks of March and the first week of April on forced holidays, as the “Tages-Anzeiger” writes. In Winterthur alone, this affects 650 workers who sacrifice six days of their vacation and have to compensate three days with overtime. A local holiday completes the two-week vacation upon request.
Short-term work secures jobs
Can a company take short-term vacations? No, or “inadmissible”, the Zurich Office of Economics and Labor (AWA) told the “Tages-Anzeiger”. Because if the holidays had already been ordered, this would have to be done three months in advance.
The AWA does not comment on whether there has actually been an increase in compulsory vacations, as the Unia union has stated. But one thing remains firm: “Short-term work would be a very good way to secure jobs.”
Patron Sonderegger defends his actions against the “Tagi”: “The decision to prescribe two weeks of vacation applies to the entire Kistler Group and to all 60 locations worldwide.” There are two reasons for this: employee protection and financial circumstances. Kistler is 70 percent dependent on the auto industry. But this has closed most of the factories, especially in Germany, nothing works anymore.
Some plants are already working again
The result: suppliers like the Winterthur Kistler Group are in a difficult situation. “We are currently 20 percent behind the planned sales target. An extraordinary situation requires extraordinary measures ”, Sonderegger justifies the obligatory short-term vacations.
But there is hope. “In Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China, our production is slowly starting again,” he says. “It will probably take a little longer in Switzerland. We are currently preparing an application for short-term work. ” (koh)
