Between uncertainties and tensions, the Swiss economy is slowing down in a degraded international context – Le Temps

“It’s not euphoria, but it’s for the better. The year 2025 was not great, but 2026 promises to be better, almost at the level of 2024. What is this due to?… We are so broad that we endure without suffering [traduction: la diversification permet de résister à la baisse de la demande sur l'horlogerie, ndlr].” Roxane Piquerez, co-director of Louis Bélet, manufacturer of precision cutters and drills in Vendlincourt (JU), translates in her own words the general temperature measured at the EPHJ micromechanical subcontracting show, which is currently being held in Geneva. On site, no one wants to give figures, but the testimonies all point in the same direction: Swiss industry continues to resist.

Even if there is no shortage of challenges. Olivier Haegeli, director of Willemin-Macodel machine tools in Delémont, takes stock of the current concerns: “Between the relatively illegible situation where configurations can change from one moment to the next, geopolitics, the strong franc and customs barriers, we are moving forward on roller coaster.” However, this context “does not block the capacity for innovation”, underlines Olivier Hageli. Concerning the 2026 financial year, he expects “increasing stability”. At Daems, a Belgian industrial group present in Geneva and active in setting for watches and jewelry, the analysis is direct: “2025, very difficult; 2026, it gets better. We hope that 2027 will be normal.”