Press Release

Issued by RUAG MRO.

May 28, 2018

Owing to insufficient capacity utilisation and expiring maintenance contracts, RUAG Aviation has decided to close its facilities at Bern-Belp Airport at the end of September 2018. The 22 employees at the Bern-Belp site will be offered alternative jobs. Furthermore, the recurring challenges posed by the economic situation of the Defence division have led to the decision to cut a number of jobs.

At present, it is expected that a total of up to 13 jobs will be cut in Thun, Berne and Zurich-Seebach by the end of the year.

The operations of the RUAG Aviation division at the Bern-Belp site will cease due to insufficient profitability and a lack of potential new business. The non-renewal of important service agreements by the operators of the Dornier 328 passenger plane has further exacerbated the economic situation at the site. Despite intensive efforts, it was not possible to gain sufficient new business to compensate for the loss of these service agreements. RUAG Aviation has therefore decided to close its facilities at Bern-Belp Airport at the end of September.

The 22 employees affected by the closure will be offered alternative jobs elsewhere in Switzerland. The staff and employee representatives have already been informed of the decision. In the coming weeks, potential opportunities and the next steps to be taken will be addressed in personal discussions with all the staff affected.