By John Revill and Marleen Kaesebier
ZURICH, June 8 (Reuters) - Switzerland goes to the polls on June 14 to vote on whether to cap its population at 10 million people in a referendum some have likened to a "Swiss
Brexit", alarming many businesses who fear an economic blow should the proposal succeed.
Supporters of the cap, championed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), say the expanding population is testing local infrastructure, roads and public transport to the limits, as well as driving up rents and crime.
Companies and employers, however, worry a "yes" vote would limit Switzerland's access to skilled labour and damage relations with the European Union, its biggest export market.
"As a Swiss citizen, it concerns me very much for the future of our country and its prosperity," said Martin von Moos, CEO of luxury hotels Belvoir in Ruschlikon and Sedartis in Thalwil, near Zurich.
"If we lost all of our foreign staff, the hotel simply wouldn't function," he said, noting nearly half of his 115 staff came from outside Switzerland.
The issue has been finely balanced in recent studies, with the most recent poll showing 47% in favour and 52% against.
The Swiss population had grown to 9.1 million by the end of 2025, from 7.3 million when free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union was introduced in 2002.
Foreigners now make up nearly 28% of the population.
"Switzerland is a small country with a limited territory, and it has experienced the highest population growth in recent years," SVP lawmaker Yvan Pahud told Reuters.
The vote is the latest example of right-wing parties tapping into anxiety over immigration, housing and public services, seen in Britain's 2016 vote to quit the EU and the rising popularity of parties such as France's National Rally and AfD in Germany.
CAP COULD BE A 'SHOWSTOPPER'
Business critics point to the damage they say the population cap could inflict on one of Europe's most resilient economies.
Molecular Partners, a Zurich-based biotech company - more than half of whose roughly 120 staff are non-Swiss - said it was already tough to get the people it needed.
"I think if we said we could only hire out of the Swiss talent pool, or if we could only collaborate with the Swiss companies, it would basically be a showstopper," said Daniel Steiner, senior vice president targeted radio therapeutics at the company.
"We may be forced to move things out of Switzerland."
Rudolf Minsch, chief economist of business association economiesuisse, said the cap was a "populist attempt" to fix complex problems with a simplistic, artificial limit.
"It sells the illusion of a free lunch, and will not solve our housing or traffic problems," Minsch said.
Like many European countries, Switzerland faces an aging population.
By 2055, the proportion of the Swiss population aged between 20 and 64 will decline from 60% to 56%, according to the Swiss statistics office. Meanwhile the proportion of people aged over 65 will climb to 27%, from 21% currently.
Opponents of the cap argue many newcomers have been entrepreneurs who developed the Swiss economy, citing well-known companies such as Nestle, Swatch and ABB that were set up either wholly or partially by foreigners.
According to a 2023 study by Avenir Suisse, 39% of all company founders in Switzerland were foreigners.
DENT TO GROWTH
Referendums are a cornerstone of Swiss politics, with voters heading to the polls four times a year to decide on various national and regional issues.
Under the latest proposal, if Switzerland's population exceeded 9.5 million - a milestone that is forecast for 2031 - the government would be required to take measures to prevent it reaching 10 million, which it is forecast to hit in 2042.
At 10 million, Bern would be required to terminate international accords that encourage population growth.
That includes the agreement with the EU allowing free movement of people, a condition of the complex web of Swiss accords with Brussels that give the country access to the European single market.
Claude Maurer, chief economist at BAK Economics, a research institute, said if Bern abandoned its bilateral accords, Swiss economic growth between 2028 and 2045 would be 7.1% lower, equivalent to a loss of 685 billion Swiss francs ($867 billion).
Growth would slow, while inflation, driven higher by wage increases, could trigger higher interest rates, Maurer said.
Thomas Matter, another SVP lawmaker and banker, dismissed the concerns as scaremongering.
Only one-out-of-10 immigrants were workers with sought-after skills and the rate of GDP growth per head had declined since the increase in immigration, Matter said.
"We are not against immigration, but it has to be moderate and controlled so we bring in the right people," he said.
"Before we had qualitative immigration, now we have quantitative immigration. Switzerland is still the same size as it was in 1848, and more and more people are living in the same space."
Swiss corporate giants Roche, Nestle, ABB, UBS and Novartis have all criticised the cap.
"We reject the initiative," Roche said, adding that a 'yes' vote would threaten agreements with the EU and exacerbate a shortage of skilled workers. "Companies depend on access to qualified workers - especially from the EU."
Hotelier von Moos, who is also head of the Swiss hotels association, said some hotels could be forced out of business, prices would rise, and it would be harder for non-European visitors to come to Switzerland.
"We call this initiative a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's a simple message but it hides serious consequences." ($1 = 0.7902 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John Revill, Marleen Kaesebier, additional reporting by Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson)
