Cembra moves to Baden: What the relocation means for Zurich

Cembra intends to move its headquarters from Zurich-Altstetten to Baden in autumn 2027. The company names the Konnex building complex in the former industrial quarter of Baden-Nord as its future location. According to a Cembra spokesperson speaking to the news agency AWP, around 660 employees at the Zurich headquarters are to move with it. The figure describes a planned change of workplace. She emphasised explicitly that the relocation is not linked to job cuts.

The decision comes just weeks after Vontobel announced that it would build a campus in Baar ZG and move its headquarters there. Both cases have consequences for Zurich as an office location. But they differ – and two relocations alone do not amount to a decline of the financial centre.

What Cembra has actually announced

The bank justifies its choice with modern infrastructure, flexible workspaces, energy-efficient operations and good public transport links. The move is scheduled for autumn 2027, so it has not yet taken place. According to its own figures, Cembra employs around 800 people across Switzerland and serves more than two million customers. The remaining employees at regional locations, including Zurich-City, are to stay there. Five regional hubs and the partner network are to continue serving customers.

The announcement does not specify which teams will move to Baden, how working days will be organised in future, or whether commutes will get longer or shorter for individual employees. Nor does Cembra quantify the cost of the move or possible savings. Anyone who already reads this as a clear tax or cost motive goes beyond the available information.

Baden gains a major office location

For Baden, the arrival of a bank headquarters would be a visible success in the use of the former industrial site Baden-Nord. The Konnex site is to bring the workforce together in one place. This may create demand for restaurants and services in the surrounding area; how large that effect turns out to be depends on attendance rates, commuting behaviour and local spending. No reliable figures on this are available so far.

For Zurich, the relocation conversely means that office work and corporate management are to change location. That is a real loss of presence. But it is something different from a loss of jobs in Switzerland. The tax consequences for the city and canton cannot be calculated from the number of employees alone either: future profits, the specific tax allocation and where employees live are decisive.