Moët Hennessy is in the process of consolidating its employee headcount, according to reports, with around 1,200 jobs on the line.
A news article on the Financial Times’ website, published today (1 May), claims that more than 10% of the brand owner’s headcount will go. The report comes two weeks after the wine and spirits arm of LVMH booked a fifth consecutive quarter of declining sales.
The FT cited an internal video in which CEO Jean-Jacques Guiony, who assumed the role at the start of February, says that the number of employees – currently at 9,400 in total – would need to revert to pre-pandemic levels.
“This was an organisation that was built for a much larger size of business,” Guiony was cited as saying. “People realise . . . that this [rebuilding sales] is not going to happen anytime soon.”
Global Drinks Intel has contacted the company for confirmation and further details.
This year has already seen two multinational spirits companies announce plans to right-size their businesses. In January, Brown-Forman lined up a 12% headcount reduction – almost 650 jobs – with the “difficult decision” having been taken in order to support the Jack Daniel’s owner to become “a more agile and efficient organisation and reinvest in the capabilities, technologies, brands and people that will drive future growth”.
A month later, Campari Group commenced an “organisational restructuring” process that could also see 10% – “meaning around 500 people” – of its direct employees lose their jobs.
