- According to the Swiss online comparison service Comparis, there is a “mass redundancy”.
- Comparis does not say how many employees will be affected.
- In addition to strategic reasons, the company also cites a dispute with the financial market authority Finma as a reason.
The dispute revolved around the question of whether Comparis had to register as an insurance broker, the company explained in a statement.
According to the company, a socially acceptable solution for all affected employees is planned.
Probably several dozen people affected
As a result of the growth strategy corrected by the board of directors, the management sees itself forced to reduce staff across the group, reports Comparis. The procedure for a mass dismissal had been initiated.
How many employees will be laid off is not explained. The Comparis Group has around 200 employees. A mass redundancy of this magnitude would be when more than 10 percent of the employees are dismissed.
Ongoing enforcement proceedings by Finma
After a steady decline in profitability, the Comparis Group slipped into the red in 2022, the reasoning is given. On the one hand, this is due to a significant increase in costs and, on the other hand, to a stagnating level of sales. And in 2023 there is a risk of another loss due to the challenges in various product areas.
In this context, Comparis refers in particular to the threat of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma to confiscate the profits from Comparis’ address brokerage in the insurance sector from 2015 as part of an ongoing enforcement procedure. For reasons of caution, this forces the company to form provisions in the millions as quickly as possible.
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KEYSTONE/Christian Beutler
A reorganization is also necessary regardless of the outcome of this legal dispute. «The company management did not succeed in achieving the ambitious growth targets. In order to ensure our financial stability and ability to act in the long term, we feel compelled to massively reduce our cost basis across the entire group,” explains CEO Ingo Kopido.