In one of the largest expansion projects seen in recent years, Rolex, the Swiss watchmaker, has announced that it will be investing 1 billion francs in Bulle, Canton Fribourg. The investment will include a new factory that will create 2.000 new jobs in Switzerland.
The watch group, based in Geneva, announced that “a project of a rare scale is on the way in Bulle.” The international company said that it wanted to expand its business to the capital of the Gruyère region by creating a brand-new factory.
The site, alongside the motorway near the town, covers 100.000 square metres in total - the equivalent of 13 football fields. According to RTS, Rolex will use the site to build and ship its watches around the world.
Rolex said that it would be investing 1 billion francs into the local economy and that the factory itself would employ 2.000 workers once it is built - amounting to one of the largest business expansion projects seen in Switzerland for years. The company said that it “was seduced by the central position of Bulle and the canton of Fribourg, between Bern and the Lake Geneva region. Thus, the pool for recruiting qualified labour [will] be very large.”
Speaking to Blick, Fribourg State Councillor Olivier Curty said that the plan will be a boon to the local economy and provide a boost to state coffers through business taxes and income taxes from new workers. “This project is on the right track and the Fribourg authorities will do everything to ensure that it succeeds,” he concluded.
The local council in Bulle is expected to approve the sale of the land on December 12, 2022. If all goes well, designer watches will start to be produced in the city in 2029.