The bankrupt vulture roams the canton of Zurich

There’s a wave of bankruptcies heading towards Switzerland right now, which is quite a challenge! Between January and October 2022, 3849 Swiss companies filed for bankruptcy. This is a huge 19 percent increase over the same period of the previous year.

In particular, the canton of Zurich stands out negatively. Here, bankruptcies increased from 509 cases to 719 cases. This corresponds to an increase of 41 percent. Bankruptcies increased by 26 percent in Central Switzerland and 16 percent in Mittelland. It is also 15 percent in northwest Switzerland.

decline in initiatives

Ticino grew by 12 percent and south-west and eastern Switzerland by 11 percent each. Bankruptcies increased sharply, while start-ups fell slightly by one percent.

A total of 40,903 companies have just entered the trade registry. Start-ups rose 4 percent in Zurich and 1 percent in Ticino, while all other major parts of Switzerland declined.

Economic motor Zurich kicks

How is the economic engine of the canton of Zurich in such bad shape? A below-average number of companies went bankrupt in the canton of Zurich during the pandemic. This is due to state aid measures. Now bankruptcies are on the rise again.

The vulture of bankruptcy is swirling above all in small companies with fewer than ten employees. But even for companies that have been in operation for over a decade, bankruptcies currently exceed pre-pandemic figures. The statistics office expects a real wave of bankruptcies. Because the measures could help many companies that are already experiencing liquidity problems.

gastronomy and retail

From an industry perspective, the number of companies going bankrupt has decreased, especially in the catering, retail, construction and building management sectors. This is changing dramatically now.