Swiss Firms Cited in Oxfam Report on Rising Corporate Inequality
Several major Swiss multinational companies have been named in a new Oxfam report that examines how large European corporations contribute to global economic inequality. The report claims that many firms prioritize shareholder returns and executive compensation over fair wages, social equality, and environmental sustainability.
The study covers the 100 largest European companies and highlights that, between 2022 and 2024, these firms distributed around 70% of their profits to shareholders on average. In some cases, companies even paid out more to shareholders than they earned in profit, raising concerns about long-term economic balance.
Swiss companies such as Zurich Insurance, Swiss Re, and Glencore are specifically mentioned in the report. Oxfam highlights Zurich Insurance as an example, noting that the company consistently increased dividend payouts over recent years, even during periods of profit decline.
In 2022, Zurich Insurance raised its dividend per share despite an 11.5% drop in profit. In the following years, as profits recovered and grew significantly, shareholder payouts also increased steadily, reaching CHF28 per share by 2024.
Swiss Re and Glencore are also cited for maintaining strong shareholder returns even during challenging financial periods. Glencore, despite reporting a loss of $1.6 billion in 2024, still proposed dividend payments and share buyback programs. Swiss Re also continued to increase shareholder rewards despite earlier profit declines.
Oxfam has called for stricter rules to limit dividend payouts until companies ensure fair wages across their entire supply chains and adopt stronger climate strategies. The organization argues that corporate responsibility must go beyond profit distribution to include social and environmental obligations.
The report also examines gender equality in corporate leadership. It finds that women’s representation in management remains low across major companies, rising only slightly from 25% in 2022 to 27% in 2024. However, Swiss companies Roche and Zurich achieved 50% female representation at top leadership levels.
On pay equality, companies such as Nestlé and Novartis were highlighted for showing a negative gender pay gap, which suggests relatively favorable conditions for female employees compared to industry norms.
Environmental performance remains a major concern. According to Oxfam, only a small number of companies have made strong commitments to carbon neutrality. Roche is among the few firms actively engaging suppliers to reach net-zero targets.
The report also found that only Nestlé managed to reduce emissions across all major categories over the study period. However, 58% of the companies increased their emissions, while only 41% recorded reductions.
The findings have intensified debate across Europe about corporate responsibility, fair wealth distribution, and the role of multinational companies in addressing climate change and social inequality.