Swiss Steel Slashes Jobs in Germany After €311 Million Loss
The Lucerne-based steel group has already halved its workforce from 13,000 to 6,500. CEO Frank Koch says more cuts are coming as EU steel tariffs hit exports.
Swiss Steel, the Lucerne-based steel group, has announced another round of restructuring that will hit its German sites. The company is cutting jobs again after posting massive losses, according to CEO Frank Koch.
Koch did not provide specific figures for the planned job cuts in an interview with the SonntagsZeitung. But he said the move in Germany would make the company's dependence on the automotive business "significantly lower" once again. The goal is to structure production sites so that they can return to operating profit in a heavily shrunken market.
Swiss Steel has already halved its workforce from 13,000 to 6,500 employees, according to Koch. The next step will reduce the number of staff further. Koch also mentioned balance sheet restructuring as another measure. The company is not disclosing details. "Our plan is for us to return to operating profit from 2028," he said.
The group posted a loss of €311 million last year, following a loss of €197 million in 2024, according to the SonntagsZeitung.
New EU protective measures against steel imports are also weighing on the business. The duty-free export quota for Switzerland has been reduced by around 35 percent, Koch said. This particularly affects the Lucerne site. Swiss Steel is in contact with the EU and the Swiss government. "There is reasonable hope for a solution," the CEO said.
In mid-2026, the Lucerne cantonal council approved financial aid for Swiss Steel subsidiary Steeltec in Emmenbrücke. The canton plans to support the steel manufacturer, which employs 600 people, with 17 million francs. The cantonal contribution is necessary for the federal government to pay out its share in the same amount.
In 2025, Swiss Steel withdrew from the SIX Swiss Exchange. The reason was extensive restructuring and reorganisations in previous years.
The company's problems are not unique. The European steel industry is facing a perfect storm: weak demand from the automotive sector, high energy costs, cheap imports from Asia, and now tighter EU trade defences that are hitting even non-EU suppliers like Switzerland. For Swiss Steel, the strategy is simple but painful: shrink, restructure, and hope to survive until the market recovers.
For now, Swiss Steel is shrinking to survive. Half the workforce is already gone. More cuts are coming in Germany. The company hopes to return to profit by 2028, but the market is contracting, EU tariffs are biting, and the automotive industry — once its backbone — is no longer a reliable source of demand. The steel industry in Europe is in crisis. And Swiss Steel is fighting for its life.
Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com