Personnel Figures

In the reporting year, the Migros Group increased its workforce by a total of 3.0% to 100'373 employees. Two thirds are employed in Cooperative Retailing.

Workforce & Staff Movements

The increase is primarily down to the takeover of santémed Gesundheitszentren AG by Medbase, the Lüchinger+Schmid AG Group by Saviva AG, Marinello & Co. AG by the Migros Cooperative Zurich, and the acquisition of KM Seafood GmbH, Rudolf Schär AG and Stauss Geflügel GmbH by Micarna SA. Switzerland’s biggest coffee roaster, Delica AG, continues to expand, establishing the new company Total Capsule Solution SA in the Canton of Ticino in 2015. In addition, Digitec Galaxus AG was consolidated for the first time. The Migros Cooperatives in Geneva, Vaud and Ticino reported a slight decrease in the number of staff, which was partly due to shopping tourism.

The period 2011 to 2015 saw consolidated employment growth of almost 14.0%, despite the bleak economic environment for much of this time.

Cooperative retailing is very much at the heart of the Migros Group's identity. It employed around two thirds of all staff in 2015. The workforce is up again on the previous year.

Net staff turnover (voluntary staff departures) of 5.3% was down slightly from the previous year.

Due to growth and acquisitions, the average hiring rate is higher than the average gross fluctuation rate over the past five years.

In 2015, the Migros Group employed 61'800 women and 38'573 men. The proportion of women employees was therefore around 62.0%. The average for the Swiss economy is significantly lower (45.6%). In the three strategic business units Cooperative Retailing, Commerce and Travel, the proportion of women stands at between 63.8% and 75.0%, while the percentage in industry stands at 33.5%.

51.8% of employees in the Migros Group work full-time and 48.2% part-time. The number of part-time positions rose by 0.6%. On the Swiss labour market as a whole, 35.4% work part-time. This high percentage of part-time employees is down to attractive working models, but is also typical in retail. 

At 43.2%, the proportion of female full-time employees within the Migros Group is very high in comparison to Switzerland as a whole (29.8%). The proportion of female part-time employees within the Migros Group (around 81.2%) is also higher than the figure for the Swiss labour market (76%).

Around 63.6% of women employed within the Migros companies work part-time. For men, the part-time employment rate across all age groups is 23.6%.

At Migros, there is a balanced age structure across all employed age groups, from trainees through to those approaching pension age. The average age of the workforce is 39.1 years.

The proportion of male and female employees per age group is generally balanced. When considering the age distribution among men and women, the proportion of women in the 15 to 40 age group is higher than for men.

Some 55.2% of men and 52.1% of women have worked at Migros for more than five years, with men (10.3 years) staying slightly longer than women (9.1 years) on average. These figures put Migros at the Swiss average of 54.3% of employees with five or more years of service.

The proportion of women in the workforce across all length of service categories is above average.

In the reporting year, 71.3% of Migros' workforce consisted of Swiss nationals, and 28.7% of foreign nationals. People from 150 nations were employed within the Migros Group in 2015. Migros sees this cultural diversity as an opportunity and therefore consciously promotes it with a tolerant and discrimination-free corporate climate.

14.2% of the 100'373 employees work abroad. The proportion was slightly up on the previous year.

Staff Expenditure & Value Added

Personnel costs

Real wages at Migros rose by an average of 2.2% as of 1 January 2015. Migros increased its nominal wages by 14.9% and its real wages by 12.3% between 2006 and 2015. Wages in the Swiss private sector rose at a slower rate during this period.

Employees play an important part in the contribution that Migros makes to the economic value added in Switzerland. As a result, they also make up a major proportion of the social value added. In 2015, Migros spent around 75.8% of its net value added on its employees.

Wage equality

The employee management, development and remuneration system (M-FEE) used in most Migros companies implements the principle of equal wages for equal roles, performance and experience in practice on a consistent basis. The tool has a gender-neutral design. The principle not only promotes equal wages for women and men, but also applies in general within Migros.

The company ensures role, performance and distribution equality for wages and wage adjustments as the basis of a transparent, clear and fair wage policy.

Employee pension plans

The Migros Pension Fund (MPF) organises the occupational pensions for its members in 43 associated companies of the Migros Group on a final salary basis. The Pension Fund looks after some 52'100 active members and 28'700 pensioners.

The MPF provides excellent pension benefits: for a full term of cover, the target benefit is 70.2% of the insured salary at the normal retirement age of 64 for men and women. For over-25s, the employer contribution is 17% of the insured salary, and the employee contribution 8.5%. Migros covers two thirds of the contributions and is therefore well above the Swiss average.

The MPF also offers policyholders attractive purchasing options to improve their pension benefits as well as various options in the event of retirement, such as early retirement from the age of 58, semi-retirement alternatives (by agreement with the employer, retirement can be delayed beyond the age of 64) and unrestricted lump sum withdrawal options in place of a pension.

Despite the challenging market conditions, the MPF generated a net return of 1.6% on its capital investments of CHF 21.1 billion. With a coverage ratio of 120.5%, the MPF is in a sound financial position.

Supplementary benefits

Migros underlines its position as an attractive employer in Swiss retail with attractive supplementary benefits. The companies of the Migros Group grant their employees numerous discounts and favourable terms on many different products and services.

Migros covers the cost of a special life insurance policy which in the event of an employee's death pays the employee's bereaved family members up to three annual salaries. This benefit is available to both unmarried couples and same-sex couples.