When looking for skilled workers, the German pharmaceutical and chemical industry, especially on the border with Switzerland, is struggling with competition from the Swiss Confederation. “The competition for talent is getting bigger,” says Christjan Knudsen from the Baden-Württemberg Chemical Employers’ Association. He criticizes “over-academization” in Germany. Companies need “well-trained, fit commercial employees”.
The increased shortage of skilled workers near Switzerland is partly due to higher salaries, as a survey by the German Press Agency in the industry showed. On the other hand, a lack of skilled workers, a low unemployment rate and a lack of housing exacerbate the situation. Companies like Takeda, Novartis, Evonik and Roche are therefore coming up with lots of ideas to attract and keep staff in the border region. This can be, for example, a travel allowance for local transport, daycare places or the assumption of moving or brokerage costs.
Competition from Swiss companies
According to a spokesman for the BW Chemical Association, associations in the region are stepping up their training campaigns in a targeted manner. The Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (VFA) says that Switzerland generally has a “pull effect” on workers near the border – because of good salaries and lower taxes.
Simone Berger, head of HR at Stada, speaks of a salary explosion in some pharmaceutical areas: Selected specialists for supply chains, for example, demanded almost twice as much as five years ago. Regulatory experts are also in high demand. “Of course there is also competition from Swiss pharmaceutical companies who can offer contracts with lower taxes locally.”
For Takeda, the significantly higher salary level in Switzerland as well as the low population density and the lack of housing in southern Baden-Württemberg are just a few of the challenges, as a spokeswoman explains. Added to this is the low unemployment rate and the associated shortage of skilled workers. Affordable housing is urgently needed, especially in industrial cities like Singen. According to the information, 40 percent of the positions are open for more than 60 days.
Employee turnover in Switzerland
An Evonik spokeswoman explains that the size and reputation of an employer or a salary above the chemical tariff at the Rheinfelden site did not change anything: “It is often more complex and takes longer than in other regions of Germany to fill a position with qualified personnel.” Many companies along the High Rhine felt an employee turnover in Switzerland.
According to figures from the Southwest economic region, more than 63,000 people commuted from Germany to Switzerland in 2021, more than half of them from the Waldshut and Lörrach districts. Thomas Bösch, President of the Employers’ Association of Basel Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Service Companies (VBPCD), says: “The labor market in the Basel region has been trinational for centuries.” Around a third of the employees at the VBPCD member companies are cross-border commuters from the French and German area. But not only the wage level is higher in Switzerland, but also the costs. From his point of view, training and further education measures will be decisive in order to be able to recruit enough staff for the entire region.
Competition especially in production
The pharmaceutical company Novartis, for example, has a location in the small town of Wehr right on the border and is experiencing strong competition, especially in production. “We therefore use alternative ways to find appropriately qualified workers,” says a spokeswoman, citing local offers or referral programs as examples. It is less difficult for well-trained workers. “Here we rely primarily on the internal further development of young specialists.” Any vacancies are to be filled primarily from within the company’s own ranks.
In order to find employees, companies throw a lot into the scales. For example, Takeda, which has a location in Constance next to Singen, offers a travel allowance for local transport, health and sports programs, supplementary long-term care insurance, daycare places and often covers relocation or brokerage costs. Other companies also report support and non-tariff offers.
An employment relationship in Germany offers comprehensive employee protection and additional statutory family benefits, according to the pharmaceutical giant Roche. A spokeswoman for Boehringer Ingelheim says: “Both as a country and as a company, we also score internationally with our good framework conditions – for example when it comes to work-life balance.” In addition to the lower cost of living, arguments for employment in Germany included things such as parental leave, childcare, vacation and public holiday regulations, but also company regulations such as flexible working hours.
Networked working is a plus
For experienced experts, the focus of the job is also important, such as a specific research area. Especially foreigners who studied in Switzerland are open to moving to Germany.
Roche, with locations virtually in the vicinity on both sides of the border, even sees this as an advantage because the proximity enables networked work in global teams and offers development options. Interested parties often apply for jobs in both Germany and Switzerland, as a spokesman reports.
Further from the border, competition from Switzerland apparently plays less of a role. So Boehringer in Biberach has no problems with vacancies. According to a spokeswoman, applicants at the Darmstadt-based pharmaceutical and technology group Merck are also not turning them down because they earn more elsewhere. If qualifications such as in the field of data analysis are particularly in demand, one is ready to add more.
