Switzerland pays manager bonuses for 2019 despite the crown crisis

Despite travel restrictions and declining passengers, Swiss managers will not have to give up their bonuses this year. The payment was made possible by the federal crown rescue syringe.

With the gigantic sum of 1.5 billion francs, the federal government lent a hand to the troubled Swiss airline in August. Although Swiss is now liquid again, there is no improvement in the situation given the high number of Corona cases and related travel restrictions.

But crown crisis or not: Swiss managers will soon receive bonuses for 2019. Board members received variable remuneration for 2019 at the end of October, a spokesperson said at the request of the AWP news agency. He confirmed a report in Tamedia newspapers on Tuesday.

According to the spokesperson, this is not a bonus in the sense of a gratuity, but a variable component of the salary which is a fixed and binding part of the employment contract. This is due to exceeding certain key figures. Due to the excellent annual result for 2019, these payment thresholds have been exceeded. But for the moment these are the last payments. In the course of the pandemic, Switzerland is preparing for other difficult times.

Klühr postpones the payment

Payment was initially deferred until liquidity was ensured. The latter was satisfied with the signing of the loan agreement with the banking syndicate in mid-August, the spokesman said. The loan was guaranteed by the federal government as part of a bailout package for the airline.

Only Swiss coach Thomas Klühr can postpone his payment until the loan is repaid. According to the spokesperson, he decided to do so because he will leave Switzerland at the end of 2020 and therefore will no longer be able to contribute to cost reduction in the future. Klühr, his executive colleagues and executives have already given up up to 20 percent of their salary for six months in 2020.

For the current year and until further notice, executives waive a variable component of remuneration and an increase in remuneration. You signed a corresponding waiver.

A quarter of last year’s capacity

The pandemic continues to make life difficult for Swiss and its entire parent company Lufthansa. Various travel restrictions to contain the virus are hugely slowing business. Lufthansa expects less than a fifth of the previous year’s passenger numbers for the winter semester, according to media reports in reference to a letter from the group to its employees.

This passenger prediction also applies to Switzerland, a spokesperson told AWP. Swiss is also currently speculating that it will offer up to a quarter of last year’s capacity in the winter flight schedule. The airline is therefore once again revising its downward expectations. On the basis of the reduced capacity, however, the airline expects a load factor in the order of magnitude of the previous year, especially for Europe.

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