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Tuesday, 7 March 2023

Toblerone is saying goodbye to its iconic Matterhorn mountains + Meta is gearing up for another round of job cuts

So long, snowy mountains: The iconic Toblerone packaging will be redesigned, as the chocolate bar’s ingredients and manufacturing processes no longer live up to strict rules on how products qualify for the coveted “Swissness” iconography, reports the Guardian. The Swiss flag and iconic Matterhorn mountain range image are being removed from Toblerone’s packaging, as the chocolate makers move some of their production to Slovakia. A Toblerone bar will now read “established in Switzerland” rather than “of Switzerland” and its Matterhorn mountain peak will be replaced with a more generic Alpine summit.

The power of symbology: The requirements for Swiss products are seen by many as an indicator of quality. Studies have shown that certain products branded as “made in Switzerland” are sold at a 20% higher price than comparable goods from other origins. The sales price rises by up to 50% for luxury items. In 2017, a law on “Swissness” was introduced, that entails that products wanting to qualify as Swiss and use its imagery must consist of at least 80% of Swiss raw materials and the processes giving it its “essential characteristics” must have occurred in Switzerland.


Another round of layoffs at Meta? The social media giant is reportedly planning to fire thousands of employees within a week driven by financial targets, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company cut as many as 11k jobs (13% of their headcount) in its first major layoff in November in a bid to streamline the company’s efficiency. Executives are looking to fast-track the cuts to finalize the plan as soon as next week, before CEO Mark Zuckerberg goes on parental leave for his third child.

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