Citing a “lack of dialogue”, trade unions have called a strike for 20 May against the de Meo plan and the redundancies at McQueen. Demonstrations are planned in Florence and other manufacturing districts. The unions want greater clarity on the territorial impact of the ReconKering plan and are urging the French group to reconsider the 54 job cuts announced within Alexander McQueen. Kering has responded by referring to ongoing dialogue and a “strategy shared with employee representatives through regular meetings”.
Against the de Meo plan and redundancies
FILCTEM CGIL, FEMCA CISL and UILTEC have announced a strike day on 20 May across Italian companies controlled by the Kering group, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Brioni, among others. Demonstrations are also expected in Florence and other industrial districts. The decision follows what unions describe as “management’s unwillingness to discuss the group’s reorganisation plan nicknamed ‘ReconKering’, which has never been presented to trade unions”.
The statement also cites “the 54 redundancies announced at Alexander McQueen, for which the company does not intend to activate any form of social protection measures”.
In addition, the national secretariats of the unions are demanding the immediate withdrawal of the layoffs at McQueen, the use of social safety nets and the search for alternatives to redundancies. They also want to understand “what the ‘ReconKering’ recovery plan consists of and how the group intends to avoid making workers bear its costs”. More broadly, the unions are calling for greater transparency and more open dialogue with Kering.
The response
In a statement reported by
Il Sole 24 Ore, Gucci’s parent company replied that it has “always maintained constructive dialogue with trade union representatives” and that “the group’s strategy continues to be shared with employee representatives during regular meetings”. Regarding the 54 redundancies at Alexander McQueen, the group stated that these had already been communicated several months ago, adding that “this difficult decision is consistent with the evolution of the maison’s operating model and the strategic review of its activities at global level, aimed at restoring the business to sustainable profitability over the coming years while simultaneously laying the foundations for its long-term development”.
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