Andreas Fasel works part-time in the hospitality sector and as an independent historian. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Zurich. His research interests covers the history of working-class militancy against taylorization, the history of corporate social policy, and the history of both industrial and domestic work. In 2021 he published the book “Fabrikgesellschaft” (Factory society) which critically explores the inner workings of some of the most important Swiss industrial engineering/manufacturing firms after World War II. His current research focuses on the micro-politics of deindustrialization in Switzerand since the 1970s.
Project statement
Around 1970, Switzerland was one of the world’s most industrialized countries – with industrial production accounting for 40 percent of gross domestic product. This was to change in the following decades. The 1973–75 crisis marked the beginning of a long-term decline in industry and around 1990 the share of industrial production in GDP decreased to 20 percent. Although employment in the second sector declined markedly, and the world of work changed radically, both the history of deindustrialization and the stories and memories of workers affected by it remain a largely unknown territory in swiss historiography and public memory.
My ongoing “Fabrikschluss” (Factory closure) research project examines the deindustrialization of Switzerland between 1975 and 1995. The rapid shift from manufacturing to services over the course of two decades affected an entire generation of workers and left deep scars that continue to have an impact today. Nevertheless, there is virtually no research on this topic. My project fills this gap and examines the deindustrialization of Switzerland as a history actively shaped by those affected. To this end, I will analyze the most important conflicts surrounding plant closures and restructuring from three perspectives: conflictuality, spatiality, and political imagination.
