Mayor of Biel not concerned about Swatch’s slump in sales
Published: Sunday, Jul 28th 2024, 06:10
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The Mayor of Biel/Bienne, Erich Fehr, has not been perturbed by the slump in sales and profits of the Biel/Bienne-based Swatch Group. He rejected the criticism that the city is too dependent on the watch industry.
In an interview with SonntagsBlick, Fehr said that a good tenth of the workforce is still employed in the watch industry today. Half a century ago, it was still over 50 percent of the workforce.
Watches have always been important and will remain so, said the SP politician. However, Biel and the Jura arc now cover the entire breadth of the precision industry. "Today, we are so broadly positioned that we can absorb something like this," said the mayor when asked about the watch group's half-year results. "Even if not without rumblings," he added.
Unclear impact on taxes
Fehr was unable to quantify how the result will affect the city's tax revenue. Taxes are regulated by the canton, which is why the city lacks certain information. In the case of companies, however, it has been shown that economic development and tax revenue are not directly linked.
Swatch felt the effects of weakening demand in the Chinese market, which is important for the Group, in the first half of 2024. As a result, the watch group posted 14 percent lower sales and even 70 percent lower profits after the previous year's records.
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