Migros Announces Major Merger Plans and Leadership Shakeup

In a sweeping structural overhaul, Switzerland's retail giant Migros has announced plans to merge its ten regional cooperatives and the Federation of Migros Cooperatives into a single nationwide group cooperative. The ambitious reorganization aims to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies, and modernize the business amid intense market competition. Under the proposed model, the new parent organization will oversee seven independently operating business units, including Denner, Digitec Galaxus, and Migros Bank, while the supermarket business will be managed centrally.

Migros Chief Executive Officer Mario Irminger and Peter Diethelm, head of Migros Supermarkt AG, announced they will step down following a general membership vote scheduled for mid-2027. Both executives will be 62 years old at that time. Management stated that building the new organization will take several years and should be overseen by new leadership. "Peter and I will work with all our conviction until the general vote," Irminger said during a media conference in Bern.

The regional cooperative administrations overwhelmingly support the merger to achieve greater efficiency and competitive strength. According to Migros, the preliminary votes across the eleven administrative bodies resulted in only one opposing vote and four abstentions. Miguel Serrano, president of the Basel regional cooperative, emphasized the competitive pressures facing the company, pointing specifically to shopping tourism into neighboring Germany and France.

While regional cooperatives will lose their traditional independence, Migros President Ursula Nold promised that regional input and local representation will be preserved through six newly established regional councils. "Regionality is not created through structures," Nold noted, stressing that proximity to customers, producers, and employees remains the most critical factor. In the retail stores, day-to-day operations will initially remain unchanged, with existing branches, staff, assortments, and regional product labels preserved.

Implementing the merger requires navigating a complex voting process. In each of the ten regional cooperatives, a two-thirds majority of voting members is required, alongside a minimum voter turnout of 25 percent. Additionally, the delegate assembly of the federation must approve the proposal. If a region rejects the merger, leadership plans to reevaluate the situation and repeat the vote within a reasonable timeframe, though no definitive backup plan has been established if regional approvals fail entirely.

The structural transformation is expected to heavily impact administrative and management personnel, where redundancies will be systematically reduced over several years. Although management has not officially confirmed specific job cuts, external estimates from the media suggest that potential savings could lead to the reduction of approximately 3,000 positions. To mitigate workforce anxiety, Migros has guaranteed that it will forego organizational layoffs within the regional cooperatives until at least mid-2028, prioritizing natural staff turnover and internal job placements.