Zurich

SONOVA, the world's largest maker of hearing aids, will shift jobs out of Switzerland and freeze pay for Swiss staff as it cuts costs to cope with a surge in the value of the franc.

Switzerland's central bank scrapped the cap on the franc against the euro on Jan 15, an unexpected decision after more than three years of holding down the value of the Swiss currency. Many companies that rely on Swiss-based manufacturing, including medical technology firms - a niche area where Switzerland excels - are feeling the pain as a stronger franc means costs rise and export revenue shrinks.