Stories making the Swiss papers

The Sunday newspapers in Switzerland - the first of the New Year - are concerned with looming job cuts and women’s pensions. The perennial topic of asylum is also mentioned. Job cuts According to the SonntagsZeitung, one in three companies is planning to slash staff due to fears over red tape associated with the mass immigration initiative. This initiative, approved in February 2014, aimed to limit immigrants from the European Union – a move which set Switzerland at odds with the EU. Switzerland is not a member of the EU but does have bilateral treaties with the 28-member bloc. On December 16, it was announced that a way out of the impasse had been found: parliament approved a revision of the immigration law which avoids quotas on EU immigrants but instead prioritises Swiss job seekers.  The newspaper said that three in ten of the CEOs it had surveyed said they could foresee job cuts and moving operations abroad as a result of increased bureaucracy resulting from ...