So, after a 7-year stint at my previous employer making the proverbial 120K+, my job was "outsourced" (actually replaced by the same function internally but at an EU subsidiary where they can pay much less).

After much scrambling, nail-biting and interviewing, I landed a new job... but had to accept 20% less than what I was making before.

Is this a sign of the times? Competition from EU migrants, the strong Swiss Franc... kids fresh out of university... all accepting far less than what I have been used to in the past.

Anyone else feeling this downwards pressure on salaries?

Yup. Upon our return also 20%less (and I was nowhere near the 120k) Same for my wife....

That salaries are falling is the elephant in the room.

No one wants to talk about it for fear that they themselves will be next.

The writing is on the wall, though...

For a long time Swiss salaries were sustained by consumers willing to pay high prices. And in the purely domestic market the willingness is still more or less there.

But today many companies' business is largely with customers abroad. The claim/myth of 'Swiss quality' sustained high prices and thus salaries for some time, but today that's largely gone with competition producing equal (or better) goods and services at lower prices.

Swiss salaries are too high to compete in today's global marketplace.

Many companies are under extreme cost pressure, the most glaring cost is labor. An MNC looks at salaries in Switzerland vs salaries in other locations and if a return justifying those higher wages is not clearly evident cuts have to be made.

Given the economies of much of the rest of the EU, even at reduced salaries there are plenty of qualified folk still willing to move here for less. Or stay at home, where the no-longer-Swiss job has now been moved.

Interesting times ahead...

Which in turn is a worry for the housing market because if wages fall house prices must logically follow suit.

Same experience here on the salary side

Count yourself lucky you're employed, I know I'm grateful for my salary even if it has stayed at a level par.

I am grateful! I had to start looking for a new job this year as my previous employer closed down the offices in Switzerland and with a "5" in my age I wasn´t too much looking forward applying for a new job. So yes, I am happy to have found another one even if the salary is lower!

Google Switzerland is complaining about the high labor costs in Switzerland and difficulties to obtain work permits for new (non-EU) hires. Engineers cost 20-30% more in Zurich than in London and, due to this and the immigration issues, Google is expanding its London center:

https://translate.google.de/translat...322&edit-text=

They could have googled that already years ago.

It's usually much much worse as the housing market typically overshoots... we were looking at buying a pad in ZH recently where initial price was 1.6m - came down to 1.45m but because of advice we've since received it seems likely it's worth 1.3m max

agree, the new salaries here have taken a massive hit (makes the move to working in London more attractive now). Salaries have been offered here that are less then what I received +6 years ago with zero experience back then. Strong franc, EU migration main cause. Companies simply hire the cheapest and not necessary the most skilled...

Good job they don't pay taxes then, eh?

In the period approx. 1998 to 2001 the labor market for certain kinds of employees was very tight in Switzerland. My former employer increased its offers by around 20% to attract employees from other companies to fill vacancies (caused by our employees leaving for a 20% boost at another company).

As a result of the Swiss recession that started mid-year 2001 new hires who were unemployed could be brought in to these same jobs at the pre-1998 levels and the employees hired from 1998 to 2001 were considered "overpaid" in the company. Some underperforming "overpaid" employees were exited from the company.

Not necessarily, I made the hop from CW to here for that reason alone, plus the work, life balance is far more attractive especially when you move into your forties..

What housing market? As long as I've been here, buying a house as an investment has been usually thought of as a bad idea.

Has it...?

The downward pressure on salaries is a direct consequence of the SNB dropping the currency peg. Currency rises about 20%; salaries drop about 20%. It's almost beautiful in the same brutal way that a B-52 is.

On the bright side, your Swiss assets are up about 20%. So it's looking ok so far...

It probably depends on what your job actually is.

At least where I work, we simply cannot afford to hire the cheapest. We also can't just hire someone from Spain or Greece - they have to understand our customers' Swiss-German dialect.

But I'm pretty sure that if I'd change jobs, I'd have to start with less salary than what I have now.

It was probably OK-ish until the 90s, while gains in land-prices offset the deprecation of the building.
Nowadays, people liquidating 2nd and 3rd pillars to buy their "dream-house" with almost no land - I'm quite sure they could be in for a brutal awakening once they reach retirement age.

I think it also depends on the area you work in... some stay centralized in Switzerland and are always in demand. I got a good pay rise with my last job change late this year and I can't see my salary going down even if I change companies in a couple of years (though of course nothing is guaranteed).