Time for a new defence cluster Switzerland

Rarely have so many turning points been strung together in such a short space of time. A completely disruptive competition between global blocs is tearing apart an ageing Europe, where in just a few months the political debate has shifted from producing wind turbines to strengthening its own defense industries. Will we soon be spinning our wheels?

Switzerland, whose location promotion and relocation policy has only been on the brakes in recent years due to the booming economy, will have to consider whether it is still properly positioned in a location competition that has been hardened by tariffs, massive state support programs and a technological arms race. Shouldn't we be playing to our strengths and becoming a supplier hotspot for the new European arms industry? This discussion does not yet seem to have reached the experts in business and location promotion.

Can Automotive hold out?

The reports of short-time working and the first plant closures with mass redundancies are evidence of the effects of the collapse of the European automotive sector and the disruptions in global supply chains. The tariffs imposed by the USA on European car manufacturers are likely to leave deep wounds. Can Europe realign its car manufacturing and supplier industry in such a short space of time? Will the production of weapons and defense systems fill the gap? And if so, where does Switzerland stand?

Prosperity cork Switzerland. Defense would be our trade!

Well, Switzerland is still an island of prosperity within Europe. Despite the almost hourly shockwaves from Washington, we remain marked by growth fatigue. Balancing growth and spatial planning? Not a chance: Densification is failing, prices for workspaces are going through the roof. Cities are hardly contributing to growth any more. The time it takes to develop key areas has quadrupled in just a decade. The economy is increasingly being pushed out into the surrounding areas, which is why strong regions must help to create space for the economy. We need to send a clear signal that Switzerland must regain its spatial competitiveness.

Can we still compete as a business location?

This demand is all the more relevant as the global challenges for Switzerland as a business location are changing at a rapid pace. We need to muck out. We need more defense capability than ESG compatibility. It needs more high-tech than dovecotes. But can a woke society be trimmed to a war economy in such a short time? Can we simultaneously pool military applications and technological achievements from AI-supported weapons for civilian use? The competition between defense and innovation has hardly ever been so fierce.

Wake up. Now please!

Switzerland as a business location is challenged: the fair-weather economy is currently going through the meat grinder. It would be right to close ranks and align the crumbs of the defense industry with the new world view. The sites in Zurich, Emmen, Stans, Alpnach, Altdorf, Payerne, Thun, Zweisimmen, Aigle and Lausanne would have to get their act together. The Confederation would have to bundle its armaments competencies in a targeted manner. Sales of arms manufacturers are being reversed. And Switzerland is once again expanding its expertise in the arms and defense business. For new wars? No: for the defense of all our freedoms. Find out more at www.defence-cluster.ch