And why choose Zurich over Moscow as the place to center its engineers? Maybe because the business climate is not as conducive and that's very much because of the political situation in Russia.
It's also easier to recruit people to work in Zurich than in Moscow.
Zurich = Central location in Europe, natives speak multiple languages, science and R&D already there (pharmaceutical).
Also, Switzerland being in the Schengen area means they can recruit from any other Schengen country -- more-or-less the EU minus Britain and Ireland, plus Iceland, Switzerland and Norway -- without needing to get work visas or any other right-to-work documentation.
Schengen is about border controls for transportation, it doesn't mean a permit to work in itself automatically. Rather, it's because Switzerland is a member of EFTA. The UK isn't one of the Schengen countries, for example, but they can still work in Switzerland.
I guess I'm mistaken then. I thought freedom of movement, including for work, was covered under the Schengen agreement's visa policies.