SME-MEM still need staying power
The Swissmechanic economic barometer of February 2021 shows that the situation of SME-MEM remains difficult. The lack of orders remains by far the biggest challenge.
The Corona recession has now reached historic proportions. This is shown by the survey conducted in January among around 300 Swissmechanic member companies. For the sixth time in a row, and thus for the last 1½ years, the quarterly business climate index for SME-MEM is in negative territory. On the supply side, the MEM sector suffers more from employee absenteeism in the second wave (29 percent) than in the first (25 percent of companies). This is not surprising because the case numbers exceed those of spring 2020 by several times. Capacity utilization remains low, although it has increased slightly since the last quarter.
SME-MEM: "Difficult and tough decisions".
Around two out of three companies have registered for short-time working. MEM companies expect effective short-time working to rise to 26 percent in the first quarter of 2021. 62 percent have imposed a hiring freeze. One in four SMEs are planning layoffs. "These figures show that our member companies have to make difficult and tough decisions to survive in this crisis," says Swissmechanic director Jürg Marti. Unfortunately, he says, it is still too early to sound the all-clear. "The MEM sector is by no means out of the woods yet, the SME-MEM have to hang in there and need staying power."
Aid measures are still necessary
The emergency aid measures, such as the extension and simplification of short-time work, the bridging loans and the hardship provisions, were very important in securing Switzerland as a workplace during the first phase of the crisis. "The situation remains tense, which is why the aid package referred to is still absolutely necessary, needs to be extended and applied in a more differentiated manner to the individual sectors," Marti explains. Swissmechanic is therefore calling for self-employed persons and persons in a position similar to that of an employer to also be able to benefit from short-time work compensation. Since short-time work compensation is an insurance policy, all persons who pay into this insurance must also be able to benefit from it in the event of a crisis.
Subdued optimistic outlook
The MEM sector is still in the midst of the crisis and uncertainty remains high. The course of the pandemic is difficult to predict, partly because of the mutations. However, BAK Economics assumes that Switzerland and the most important sales markets will increasingly get to grips with the pandemic through vaccinations in the summer. "With the decreasing uncertainty and the global economic recovery, we also expect a noticeable impetus for demand for products from the Swiss MEM industries again in the second half of the year," says Michael Grass of BAK Economics.
Source: Swissmechanic
