Cutting jobs: H&M is far from alone among European retailers turning to layoffs to protect its bottom line.
- Asos, which employs more than 2,000 people, in October announced plans to lay off over 100 roles weeks after reporting an operating loss of almost £10m for the year.
- A week after Joules fell into administration, the retailer made redundancies across senior directors, per Retail Gazette. The company is currently in talks to be taken over by South African retail conglomerate The Foschini Group, which could help salvage some of its 1,600 jobs.
- Online car retailer Cazoo cut 750 jobs as it shutters its business in the European Union, according to The Guardian. That’s the second time this year that it has cut 750 jobs, as it announced redundancies in the UK in June.
The big takeaway: European retailers face a host of concurrent, interrelated challenges. Consumers are pulling back spending at the same time that businesses’ costs are rising, while high interest rates are forcing them to focus squarely on their bottom lines rather than adopt longer-term perspectives.
- “With retailers across the board—from discounters to luxury—warning of losses amid such a challenging economic environment, it's likely we'll see more job cuts in the sector,” said Carina Perkins, eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence.
This article originally appeared in Insider Intelligence's Retail & Ecommerce Briefing—a daily recap of top stories reshaping the retail industry. Subscribe to have more hard-hitting takeaways delivered to your inbox daily.