Resigned workforce

“We fear the end of Swarovski in Tyrol”

Works council chairman Patrick Hamberger in conversation with "Krone" editor Claudia Thurner(Bild: Christian Forcher/Fotoworxx)

More than 4000 jobs have been cut at the Tyrolean flagship company Swarovski in Wattens since 2007. Now another 400 jobs are to go. Many of the workforce believe that the dazzling global corporation will soon no longer be producing in Tyrol.

They are called "Swarovskians". These are the employees who have often worked for the global corporation Swarovski in the Tyrolean municipality of Wattens for decades. They are employees whose fathers and grandfathers have walked through the factory gates and were proud to work for one of the most successful and socially responsible companies in the country. But there is little left of this sense of belonging among Swarovski employees today. 

"The Swarovskians may soon no longer exist here." This is the opinion of someone who has been with the company for more than 20 years and, as Chairman of the Works Council, has had to announce one piece of bad news after another to his colleagues for years. Patrick Hamberger doesn't want to hide his frustration and anger: "We still had 6500 employees in 2007. Since then, things have been going downhill at our production site. That has demoralized many of us." The news of another 400 job cuts was no longer a big surprise for the workers.

As a community, we believe that Swarovski will remain in Wattens. But the latest job cuts are also hitting us hard financially.

Lukas Schmied, BM Wattens

Bild: Die Fotografen

While the employees are now being informed about possible "voluntary" exit options as part of a social plan, resignation has spread among the workforce. "It's probably only a matter of time before production disappears from Wattens completely," is what we hear among the employees. Postscript: "No matter how pathetic the assurances of the Group management may be." On Thursday, site manager Jérôme Dandrieux reiterated: "Wattens is our cradle, the site will stay!"

Loss of tax revenue hurts the municipality
The Chairman of the Works Council also fears the end of production in Wattens. "It's true that there is little work at the moment. But once so many skilled workers are gone, it weakens production once again and the spiral continues downwards," states Hamberger. The mayor of Watten, Lukas Schmied, does not believe that production will move away, but the massive job cuts in recent years are also hurting the municipality. "Because many citizens are affected and because it costs us millions of euros in tax revenue," says the mayor. 

The development at Swarovski is a "further signal of the declining industrial competitiveness in Tyrol", according to the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV). More than 2,500 jobs have been lost in Tyrol's industry since 2023. Tyrol's IV President Max Kloger: "What we are experiencing is not the result of a sudden shock, but the consequence of years of misguided developments in location policy."