Ospelt switches to paying wages in euros

The Liechtenstein pet food manufacturer Ospelt has reacted to the floating of the Swiss franc and resulting drawbacks for competition by taking startling action. According to various media reports, the company will be paying its employees at its Liechtenstein plant in Bendern in euros rather than francs with effect from October.

The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) reports that this equates to a drop in wages of up to 9 per cent for the 450 staff. The management stressed to ORF that this was an attempt to keep production and jobs in Bendern safe in the longer term. The plant there accounts for roughly a third of the Ospelt Group’s overall sales of CHF 600 mio per year.