Siemens Switzerland plans new Zurich headquarters for 2031

Siemens Switzerland is targeting mid-2031 for a new Zurich headquarters, giving the technology group a long runway to reshape its base in Albisrieden. The company has sold its existing industrial and office site to Procimmo, a property investor that will finance and construct the replacement building.

The move keeps Siemens in the Zurich district where it has operated for more than a century. Around 800 employees currently work at the site, and Siemens expects all of them to transfer to the new headquarters. The company also forecasts moderate staff growth before the relocation, although it has no plans to merge its existing sites.

The project arrives as businesses across Zurich face pressure over office costs, housing supply and access to skilled workers. Siemens says Albisrieden’s transport connections and established presence support its decision to remain. The company will continue renting part of the current buildings during construction. Once the new headquarters opens, vacant areas on the existing site will be re-let or assigned to other uses.

The purchase price agreed with Procimmo has not been disclosed. Siemens Switzerland’s announcement therefore sets out the timeline and workforce plans, while leaving the project’s final investment value open.

The current Siemens property spans 30,500 square metres and contains about 35,900 square metres of space. That footprint gives the project significance beyond a routine office refurbishment. It is a substantial urban redevelopment on a site already tied to Zurich’s industrial history.

The new headquarters will rise in the north-western part of the property, on land currently used as a car park. This allows Siemens to remain operational while construction proceeds nearby. Until the building is ready, the company will rent part of its existing premises from the new owner.

Procimmo will take responsibility for financing and constructing the new building. Siemens and Procimmo have not published the purchase price, and the available information does not specify the future headquarters’ floor area, height or construction budget. Those details will shape how the project fits into Zurich’s planning framework and the surrounding neighbourhood.

The arrangement also creates a phased transition for the site. Siemens can continue serving customers and running its Zurich operations during construction, while Procimmo gains control of a large property with future leasing potential. After the move, areas no longer required by Siemens could host other companies or activities, extending the site’s economic role beyond the headquarters itself.

Siemens expects moderate workforce growth before the 2031 move. The company has not given a target headcount, but it says the roughly 800 people currently based in Zurich will be accommodated at the new headquarters.

That commitment preserves Zurich as a core employment centre for Siemens Switzerland. It also suggests that the new site must support more than a simple transfer of desks. Siemens plans an open campus intended to encourage collaboration with other companies and start-ups, bringing a broader innovation function to the property.

The company has not announced a merger of its existing locations. That matters in a region where Siemens operates across several municipalities and where office, development and production functions often require different types of space. The Zurich headquarters will therefore form part of a wider Swiss network rather than replace it.

For employees, the timetable offers several years to prepare for the transition. The continued use of existing buildings should limit disruption during construction. For Zurich, the project could help retain a major corporate employer while adding a campus model that allows outside firms and start-ups to share the broader environment. The details of access, tenancy and campus management have yet to be released.

Siemens is pairing the Zurich project with a CHF 110 million expansion in Wallisellen. A new building there is scheduled for completion in 2029, with office, development and production space for around 1,000 employees.

The two projects point to sustained investment in the Zurich region rather than a concentration of all activity at one headquarters. Albisrieden will remain the company’s long-established Zurich base, while Wallisellen will gain additional capacity for technical and production functions. Siemens has not said that the two developments will be combined or that either site will absorb the other.

Wallisellen’s expansion also provides a nearer-term milestone. Its 2029 completion date falls roughly two years before the planned opening in Albisrieden. The staggered schedule could allow Siemens to expand operations while the Zurich headquarters is still being built, although the company has not published a detailed staffing or space allocation plan.

For the canton and the surrounding municipalities, the projects represent a continuing corporate presence across a region where transport links and access to specialised workers influence location decisions. Siemens identifies those connections as one reason for staying in Albisrieden. The company’s broader investment programme will be watched closely as Zurich weighs development against housing and land pressures.

The next decisive phase will be planning and construction, not the relocation itself. Siemens has identified the building area and set a mid-2031 completion target, but important project details remain to be disclosed. These include the final design, the building’s capacity, the construction schedule and the arrangements for companies or start-ups that may join the open campus.

The ownership change gives Procimmo responsibility for delivering the new headquarters while Siemens remains the anchor tenant and long-term occupant. That structure links a property investor’s development timetable with the operational needs of a technology group employing hundreds of people.

The project also gives Zurich a clear test of how established industrial land can evolve without losing its corporate function. Siemens has been based in Albisrieden for more than 100 years. Its plan keeps that continuity while replacing the physical centre of its operations and opening parts of the wider campus to collaboration.

If construction stays on schedule, Siemens employees will move in during 2031 after several years of parallel occupation and building work. Until then, the company will continue using its current premises, expand moderately and develop its Wallisellen campus. The result will be a two-site investment programme rooted in the Zurich region.