{"id":181413,"date":"2025-11-15T03:48:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T03:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/181413\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T03:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T03:48:13","slug":"swiss-machine-maker-feels-heat-from-auto-sector-slowdown-trumps-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/181413\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss machine maker feels heat from auto sector slowdown, Trump&#8217;s tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul data-testid=\"Summary\" class=\"summary-module__summary__QjADA\">\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Swiss machine maker lays off staff after US tariffs<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Pfiffner already struggling due to car industry woes<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Weak German, Chinese demand hits manufacturers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>UTZENSTORF, Switzerland, Nov 14 (Reuters) &#8211; Norbert Steuer, a logistics worker at Swiss precision machinery maker K.R. Pfiffner, has been at the firm for over three decades. Now he is one of 80 out of 105 staff due to be let go as it reels from U.S. tariffs and a struggling auto industry.<\/p>\n<p>The firm, which makes million-dollar machinery used by carmakers including Mercedes-Benz <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/companies\/MBGn.DE\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">(MBGn.DE), opens new tab<\/a> and suppliers such as Robert Bosch (ROBG.UL), is at the sharp end of a tough European car market that has been buffeted by U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/tariffs\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trade tariffs<\/a> and a slowdown in key export market China.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"promo-box\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__promo-box__hVl8h\"> Sign up  <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/autos-transportation\/swiss-machine-maker-feels-heat-auto-sector-slowdown-trumps-tariffs-2025-11-14\/undefined?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fbusiness%2Fautos-transportation%2Fswiss-machine-maker-feels-heat-auto-sector-slowdown-trumps-tariffs-2025-11-14%2F\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/autos-transportation\/the-party-is-over-european-carmakers-face-tariffs-price-war-china-2025-09-09\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sector slump<\/a> has hit carmakers and industrial firms hard in manufacturing strongholds like Germany, where many of Pfiffner&#8217;s European customers are. Part of Taiwanese-owned FFG, Pfiffner was already suffering before Trump announced the tariffs in August, which dashed the firm&#8217;s U.S. orders.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was like a bomb went off,&#8221; Steuer, 59, said of Pfiffner&#8217;s job cuts announcement, speaking at the company&#8217;s base in Utzenstorf, a village in central western Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>Steuer, who is scheduled to be laid off next summer, worries about his future. &#8220;There&#8217;s always talk about workers being sought, but are they going to want to hire a 59-year-old?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;IT&#8217;S SOMETHING WE&#8217;VE NOT SEEN IN OUR LIFETIMES&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Pfiffner gives an insight into the challenges facing firms down Europe&#8217;s industrial supply chain and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>Switzerland&#8217;s jobless rate is low at 3%, but has crept up from under 2% in early 2023. Its mechanical and engineering sector could lose around 30,000 jobs by the end of 2026 if U.S. tariffs were to remain in place, industry group Swissmem says.<\/p>\n<p>Customers like Robert Bosch have announced major layoffs &#8211; 13,000, with others, including Mercedes-Benz and tyre maker Continental <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/markets\/companies\/CONG.DE\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">(CONG.DE), opens new tab<\/a> also cutting headcounts.<\/p>\n<p>In the year through June, German industrial companies shed over 114,000 jobs, more than four times the amount in the previous 12 months, according to a study from consultancy EY. A year prior to that, they created over 65,000 jobs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something we&#8217;ve not seen in our lifetimes,&#8221; said Volker Treier, foreign trade chief of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.<\/p>\n<p>Item 1 of 5 Norbert Steuer, an employee, operates a machine inside a K.R. Pfiffner Group factory amid economic struggles exacerbated by U.S. tariffs on Swiss precision machinery in Utzensdorf, Switzerland, October 20, 2025, REUTERS\/Stefan Wermuth<\/p>\n<p><b data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__ultra_small_body__WelUC primary-gallery-module__pagination__3IXiB\">[1\/5]<\/b>Norbert Steuer, an employee, operates a machine inside a K.R. Pfiffner Group factory amid economic struggles exacerbated by U.S. tariffs on Swiss precision machinery in Utzensdorf, Switzerland, October 20, 2025, REUTERS\/Stefan Wermuth <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersconnect.com\/item\/employee-steuer-controls-a-machine-inside-a-kr-pfiffner-group-factory-in-utzensdorf\/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjU6bmV3c21sX1JDMk1GSEE4VUtCWA%3D%3D\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76 collapsible-caption-module__license__CPQvV\">Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a>US TARIFF HIT &#8216;KILLS ANY BUSINESS&#8217;Switzerland has been grappling with 39% U.S. tariffs which have dented its export sector. Still, on Thursday, the U.S. and Switzerland moved <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/swiss-negotiators-head-next-round-tariff-talks-washington-2025-11-13\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">close<\/a> to a deal that could lower the tariffs, potentially saving some jobs.<\/p>\n<p>For Pfiffner, Trump&#8217;s tariffs dealt a hammer blow to its U.S. order pipeline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That kills any business,&#8221; said Pfiffner CEO Andreas Ewald, adding that with a weaker dollar it had made the firm&#8217;s exports around 50% more expensive for U.S. buyers.<\/p>\n<p>Around Europe, there are wider signs of pressure on employment, with Britain&#8217;s labour market cooling in the <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/sustainable-finance-reporting\/uk-wage-growth-slows-slightly-46-three-months-september-ons-says-2025-11-11\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">third quarter<\/a>. European companies have seen revenues flatline with <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/european-companies-cut-jobs-response-slowing-economy-2025-10-06\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cost-cutting<\/a> increasingly needed to <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/european-third-quarter-corporate-profits-expected-rise-62-2025-11-11\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">burnish profits<\/a>.In the U.S., meanwhile, layoffs in October were the <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/world-at-work\/layoffs-us-october-surge-two-decade-high-challenger-data-shows-2025-11-06\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">highest for the month<\/a> in over 20 years.&#8217;A DOWNWARD SPIRAL RIGHT NOW, EVERYWHERE&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>On Pfiffner&#8217;s vast factory floor in Utzenstorf, staffing is thin as work dwindles.<\/p>\n<p>Pfiffner&#8217;s parent group FFG has begun shifting some technology and production to its U.S. plants, said CEO Ewald.<\/p>\n<p>The talk of job cuts is also creating a negative feedback loop for the local economy, said company veteran Steuer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s really a downward spiral right now everywhere, and what do people do then?&#8221; he said. &#8220;They save money instead of buying a new car, a new TV or a new phone. And on it goes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"SignOff\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 sign-off-module__text__LQAMP\">Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Mark John; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__element__5eCce article-body-module__trust-badge__5mS3f\">Our Standards: <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/about-us\/trust-principles.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__small__sph8i link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersagency.com\/en\/licensereuterscontent\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"button-module__link__A3sD0 button-module__secondary__70gBu button-module__round__QDFgq button-module__w_auto__Sem-F\" data-testid=\"LicenceContentButton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Purchase Licensing Rights<\/a><a data-testid=\"AuthorBioImageLink\" class=\"author-bio-module__author-image__jcaG3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/authors\/dave-graham\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 author-bio-module__description__9ynkB\">Dave has since 2024 been Reuters&#8217; chief correspondent for Switzerland and Austria, reporting on politics, economics, and other things that make the world go round. Before that he spent 13 years in Mexico City as deputy bureau chief for Mexico and Central America and eight years as a correspondent in Berlin, where he joined Reuters in 2003.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Swiss machine maker lays off staff after US tariffs Pfiffner already struggling due to car industry woes 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