The British luxury brand McQueen could lay off a third of its Italian employees. This emerges from a statement from three local unions on Wednesday.
The company management has announced a restructuring plan. According to the unions Filctem CGIL, Femca CISL and Uiltec, this envisages the reduction of around a third of the total workforce. In addition, the production processes should be reorganized in order to reduce costs. There are currently 120 employees in Italy designing clothing, shoes and bags for McQueen. The production sites are near Florence and Milan.
McQueen restructuring plan
McQueen confirmed to AFP that “a formal consultation process has been initiated with unions within the Italian subsidiary.” The exact number of affected positions was not mentioned.
According to brand management, this process is “part of a group-wide effort to return the company to sustainable profitability over the next three years. This will lay the foundation for McQueen’s long-term future.”
Back in October 2025, the British brand announced the planned cuts of 55 jobs at its London headquarters, where the collections are designed. This corresponds to around 20 percent of the workforce there.
The French Kering Group, which also includes Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, is suffering from the tense situation in the global luxury market. Group sales fell by another ten percent to 3.4 billion euros in the third quarter of 2025.
“The management has painted an extremely critical economic picture for the period from 2022 to 2025 and described an emergency situation,” the Italian unions said. During this period, sales fell by 60 percent.
The unions are calling for “the greatest transparency regarding the industrial plan and the restructuring strategies”. They also demand “the activation of all synergies within the group in order to keep the social impact of the restructuring as low as possible”. This applies in particular to the partner companies that are responsible for production.
A meeting with Luca De Meo, who has been entrusted with the restructuring of the Kering Group as the new managing director, is planned for February 5th in Italy.
Kering said on Wednesday it was “convinced that these measures will strengthen McQueen’s position in the global luxury market. They will enable the brand to better adapt to its strategic objectives and operational needs.”
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