Cannydc wrote:A tech developer with a successful London e-learning company has said he has already quit Britain after 10 high-flying years because of the uncertainty and “mindless tribalism” caused by Brexit.
Jan, an IT specialist from the former Yugoslavia, has set up a new business in Switzerland where he says the approach could not be more welcoming.
He said the drop in the value of the pound “killed” his business because the cost of paying subcontractors in places such as Romania and India has shot up, destroying his margin.
He also felt unwanted after the referendum and with a heavy heart he and his wife decided they didn’t “want to be trapped on an island that is descending into mindless tribalism” after 10 successful years here.
His story reflects the struggles of many small to medium-sized businesses hit by the collapse of the pound after the referendum and its continuing weakness today.
He says Switzerland’s welcoming approach to business is in stark contrast to the UK’s since the referendum. About 25% of the population are foreign and all new immigrants are invited to a lounge party with the town’s mayor with free food and wine and a free city tour to help them get to know their new home.
“If immigration was the problem, Switzerland would be the poorest country on the planet,” he said. “Accountants tell me I am not the only one who has quit Britain and that they are swamped with small UK businesses setting up shop in Switzerland. The country is not in the EU but it couldn’t be more different than Britain post-2016.
'Bye Jan, and 'bye to all those other businesses. The tip of a huge iceberg, I fear, typified by comments to Treeza today by the Japanese PM.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... s-business
This post, of course, is all rubbish
"Switzerland Passes New Immigration Law that Avoids Quotas but Privileges National Workers
In February 2014, 56.6% of the Swiss electorate took part in a referendum vote to cap EU immigration, following the popular initiative ‘Stop Mass Immigration’ launched by the national conservative Swiss People’s Party. 50.3% of those who voted supported this initiative, which proposed to introduce a new provision into the Swiss Federal Constitution to impose limits on migration into Switzerland, to re-introduce quotas for foreigners and privilege Swiss nationals over foreigners in the labour market. The referendum also called for the renegotiation of the EU-Swiss Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU (AFMP).
In the hope of finding a
compromise that would appease Brussels while addressing the result of the 2014 referendum to cap EU immigration, the Swiss Parliament passed an immigration law which avoids outright quotas on EU immigrants, which the referendum had demanded, but instead
prioritises Swiss job seekers over EU citizens. "
https://ecas.org/switzerland-immigration-law-quotas/