Swiss Feel Jobless Chill as Axe Slices Through Alpine Town Idyll
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For decades, the town of Visp at the foot of the Swiss Alps enjoyed the steady stream of affluent skiers heading to Zermatt and the tax income from chemicals maker Lonza Group AG. Lately, the inflow of money has ebbed.
Lonza is making the deepest cuts in its 115-year history, as the drug-additive maker seeks to eliminate 400 jobs out of 2,890 at its complex in Visp. The plant employs about one in 10 of the valley’s workers, and every third person depends on the site indirectly, facility manager Stefan Troger said.