Following its partial takeover by General Electric (GE), the energy and transport company Alstom will axe 1,300 jobs in Switzerland. They are among 6,500 positions being slashed across Europe following Alstom’s sale of its power generation and grid businesses to GE in November of last year. Alstom states on its website that it “is now a global player fully focused on transport”. It currently employs 5,500 people in Switzerland. The positions being lost in Switzerland will affect workers at its facilities at five locations in canton Aargau. Some of the operations currently taking place there will be moved to France. However, Alstom indicates that it is not planning to close any of its Swiss facilities amid the restructuring. The Syna union released a statement following the announcement of the layoffs in which it condemned the Swiss government for not taking enough action to keep Alstom jobs in the country. The union pointed out that Economics Minister Johann ...
