How a 130 year old company has gone without ever laying off staff

Victorinox takes a unique approach

Have you ever heard of a company that has been around since the year Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that has never had to lay off employees? Well-known knife manufacturer, Victorinox, established in 1884, claims to have never laid off a single employee, despite withstanding some of history’s most extreme recessions.

You probably know of this company as the creators of the Swiss Army Knife, with their iconic white cross on a red background having been licensed to watches, travel gear, and business accessories.

So how do they go 130 years and not lay anyone off? They prepared, they planned, and they stuck money under the mattress. To avoid any layoffs, the company has a tradition of setting aside profits during boom periods to tap during recessions.

Further, during recessions, the company outsources labor to contract employees so they never have to axe core staff.

So what is your company doing?

What plan does your company have in play to make sure you never have to get rid of staff? The very people that are the life blood of your brand, the ones that make sacrifices in their lives to be there for you – what are you doing to make sure their income is secure?

There is no reason you can’t start planning today, whether your company is one or 130 years old. Whether tapping into the wisdom of a financial planner, your CFO, or simply socking away profits in the successful moments of your company to use when the other shoe drops.

Imagine if Chrysler never had to lay off 26,000 employees, or a world where IBM didn’t have to cut 60,000 staff in the 90s. Alongside other smart business moves, Victorinox has very simply and quietly proven a way to make sure layoffs never have to take place at their brands, highlighting how others can make it to their 130th year without layoffs.