24 Heures.

The Basel-based clothing retailer Tally Weijl announced that it will pay new employees working at its Swiss headquarters in Euros instead of Swiss francs, sweeping aside plans to move the office across the border to Lörrach in Germany.

This way the clothing company can better manage the risks associated with exchange rate movements. With 85% of its revenues denominated in Euros, the firm’s boss Beat Grüring says paying staff in Swiss francs is risky.

Future staff will receive their salaries in Euros, while existing staff will be able to choose between Euros and Swiss francs. The new deal only applies to head office staff. Those who work in retail stores in Switzerland will continue to be paid in Swiss francs.

With around 200 people working at the Swiss headquarters, the initial plan was to move the whole office to neighbouring Germany. The German town of Lörrach, with its lower rents, is already an important logistics centre accounting for 60% of the business’s product shipments.

Employees unhappy with proposed move
While some employees were happy with proposed plans to move to Germany, management felt that the majority weren’t, so the relocation plan was abandoned and replaced with this one to avoid staff losses.

Read full 24 Heures article (in French)

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