BASEL - Human resources managers in the Basel life sciences cluster say specialist hiring for the rest of 2026 is holding. The two pharmaceutical giants and a ring of suppliers, from packaging to clinical data, still compete for chemists, statisticians and validation engineers. Rents in Kleinbasel and Allschwil have not eased.
The mood is not euphoric. Cost-cutting programmes exist, and some contract manufacturers have delayed expansions. But compared with banks watching the UBS capital fight, the Rhine corridor sounds like a different country.
Cross-border by default
A large share of the workforce commutes from Alsace and Baden. Tram and train delays on the German side remain a weekly complaint. Firms have learned to treat the border as a labour market, not a sightseeing line.
City officials say they want more lab space without pushing housing further out of reach, the same tension Zurich is trying to legislate in its density vote. Basel's answer so far is smaller sites and more commuting.