Migros: the planned merger of the ten regional cooperatives will cut "certainly not thousands" of jobs, says Mario Irminger, who heads the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (FMC). He said so to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), according to a Keystone-ATS dispatch published by swissinfo.ch on 30 October 2026. The project, announced on 26 October 2026, still has to be approved by the cooperative members in mid-2027.
What Mario Irminger says, and what he does not put a number on
Mario Irminger disputes the figures published in the press. "Incorrect figures are circulating in the media," he told the NZZ. In his view, these estimates are probably based on the merger of Coop's cooperatives 25 years ago, whereas Migros's situation is said to be different.
He does not, however, promise that there will be no cuts. At management and administrative level, Migros will eliminate parallel structures "over time", he explained. He declined to comment on a specific number of jobs.
His argument rests on staff turnover. According to him, Migros Supermarket employs 55,000 people, and the group has to fill around 10,000 vacancies every year. His concern, rather, is a shortage of specialists to run the company.
Migros jobs: press estimates and statement
Three orders of magnitude are circulating, and none comes from a plan published by Migros. Swissinfo.ch reports them as follows:
| Who | What is put forward | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| SonntagsZeitung | 3,000 jobs cut, for savings of 300 to 400 million francs a year | Press estimate |
| NZZ | 400 to 600 administrative jobs | Newspaper's calculation |
| Mario Irminger | "Certainly not thousands", no figure given | Statement |
What does the Migros group cooperative involve?
The eleven entities in the network want to become one. According to the page the FMC devotes to the project, the ten regional cooperatives and the FMC, called Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund in German, want to merge into a single "group cooperative". The stated aim is to eliminate parallel structures and strengthen Migros in the long term.
This is a decision in principle, not a done deal. The boards of the ten cooperatives and of the FMC have taken it, but the FMC stresses that nothing changes before the members' vote. It presents the project as one of the biggest changes in Migros's 101-year history.
Today, tasks are divided between several levels. According to Migros's "Organisation" page, the FMC coordinates the group and sets its strategy. The cooperatives run the stores and buy regional products. Migros Supermarket Ltd provides standardised services to the cooperatives' supermarkets.
How do the cooperatives' members vote?
The final say lies with the cooperative members, not with the boards of directors. The voting rules, as reported by swissinfo.ch, make each cooperative decisive:
- When: in mid-2027, according to the FMC.
- Where: in each of the ten regional cooperatives, all of which must approve the project.
- Thresholds: a two-thirds majority and a turnout of at least 25%.
- Until then: the current organisation remains in place, according to the FMC.
A rejection in a single cooperative would therefore be enough to block the project as presented. The FMC is already inviting its members to register for electronic voting ahead of this ballot.
What changes for Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel-Fribourg and Valais
The four French-speaking cooperatives already work together on part of their business. According to an FMC press release of 12 May 2025, Migros Geneva, Neuchâtel-Fribourg, Valais and Vaud have pooled their logistics since 1 July 2025. The main hub is in Ecublens (VD), with regional centres in Geneva and Martigny.
This logistics merger took place without any announced redundancies. The press release stated that the 500 employees concerned would keep their jobs within Migros Logistique Romande SA, with unchanged working conditions.
The heads of the French-speaking cooperatives support the merger, in statements published by the FMC. Sophie Dubuis, for Migros Geneva, believes the new structure preserves Geneva's and French-speaking Switzerland's identity. Olivier Gumy, for Migros Neuchâtel-Fribourg, says the particular features of the two cantons will remain visible.
Bernard Pittet, for Migros Vaud, states that centralisation "is not an end in itself". Andreas Biner, for Migros Valais, says the project plans to keep a shopping experience specific to Valais. These are statements of support: the members have not yet voted on any text.
The Migros group's recent restructurings
This merger extends several reorganisations. Swissinfo.ch reported on 27 October 2026 that Migros was due to decide on a simplification of the group after scandals and financial losses. The group already entrusts shared services for supermarkets to Migros Supermarket Ltd, and in 2025 Migros announced the sale of Mibelle.
Regional mergers are nothing new at Migros. Migros Aare was born of a merger in 1998, and Migros Ostschweiz of the union of St. Gallen and Schaffhausen-Winterthur, their chairs recall on the FMC page. Coop merged its own regional cooperatives 25 years ago, a comparison Mario Irminger considers inappropriate.
Mario Irminger will leave the company in summer 2027. "The transformation will continue beyond my retirement," he told the NZZ.
What we do not know yet
- The number of jobs cut: Mario Irminger has not put forward any figure.
- The expected savings: the estimate of 300 to 400 million francs a year comes from the SonntagsZeitung, not from Migros.
- The result of the mid-2027 vote in each of the ten cooperatives.
