In some cases it also closes doors 
I believe in the end it comes down to how hard you are willing to work and how much effort you put into things you do. Some companies tend to hire PhDs, because they know these people are willing to work 24/7 if necessary. But if you can show similar resilience and knowledge, you should not have a huge disadvantage without a PhD. Unless you are looking for jobs in research of course.
Apologies for all the off-topic, but this topic has eaten me up for a long time and I have the urge to share all thoughts I collected meanwhile.
EDIT: Boy, a meetup with Swiss moustachians would surely bring opportunities for lots of discussions 