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- Zurich city employees got an unexpected — and short-lived — boost to their pay packets this month.
- A technical error meant that all 30,000 people working for the city were given double their pay.
- Legally they have to pay it all back, and that's a gargantuan administrative task.
The city of Zurich is trying to recoup roughly 175 million Swiss Francs, about $200 million, after a technical glitch saw all city employees paid double for February, according to local reports.
The unexpected windfall landed in employees' accounts on Monday and was "due to a technical processing error," the city's finance department said, according to The Local Switzerland.
Soon after, the city administration was inundated with calls from puzzled workers, Tages-Anzeiger reported, with some joking that the extra money constituted an adjustment for rampant inflation.
The boost, paid out to 30,000 people, will likely be short-lived however, with all of them being asked to return the cash.
Politicians, too, have received double their fees for attending parliament in February, Tages-Anzeiger reported.
Zürcher Kantonalbank, which handles the payments, apologized.
The mistake was traced back to a supplier for telecoms outfit Swisscom, which processes the transactions for the bank, although the exact cause hasn't yet been identified, Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported.
"Swisscom is aware of the explosive nature of this incident and apologizes for the inconvenience caused," the company said, per The Local.
The city now faces an administrative headache in clawing back the money.
All 30,000 employees are being sent a letter with a QR code linking to instructions for returning the money, NZZ reported. The bank will cover the administration costs, it said.
"With 30,000 employees, there are many special cases," Claudia Naegeli, a city finance department spokesperson, told the outlet.
This includes people who received bonuses, complex shift arrangements, and those who have died in the meantime, the paper reported.