Company bankruptcies Company bankruptcies at the end of November well above the previous year
There was a marked increase in company bankruptcies in Switzerland in the first eleven months of the year. The construction, catering and retail sectors in particular suffered.
01.12.2025, 09:15
SDA
Company bankruptcies climbed by over 36 percent from January to November compared to the same period last year, as the economic information service Crif reported on Monday. Specifically, 11,057 companies went bankrupt in the first eleven months of the year. This means that the pace of bankruptcies has accelerated since the end of September. After nine months, the increase was only just under 20 percent.
According to Crif, most of the bankruptcies were in the construction industry (1,576 cases), followed by gastronomy (1,090) and retail (774). One reason for the increase is a change in the law. Since January 1, 2025, the tax debts of companies in the commercial register can also be claimed in bankruptcy proceedings. Previously, it was only possible for the tax authorities to collect outstanding taxes by seizure.
Start-ups also continue to increase
At the same time, the number of new company formations remains at a high level: by the end of November, a total of almost 49,000 new companies had been entered in the commercial register this year. An increase of 4.4 percent compared to the previous year.
By sector, the retail trade (3,924 start-ups), management consultancy (3,902) and the real estate sector (3,650) led the field of new start-ups.
The areas of information technology services (-19.7%), gastronomy (-10.4%) and retail trade (7.3%) recorded a significant decline in new start-ups
