The Witt Group plans to cut almost 230 jobs.
The clothing supplier, which belongs to the Hamburg trading and services group Otto Group, will offer 229 people a separation offer as part of the workforce reduction, a spokeswoman confirmed when asked by FashionUnited. Various media, including the trade magazine Textilwirtschaft, had previously reported on it. 101 employees would receive an offer of partial retirement or early retirement, and 128 employees would receive offers of termination.
A hiring freeze is also planned. These measures, which are the result of negotiations with the works council, are intended to avoid dismissals for operational reasons. The modalities of the separation offers are regulated in a reconciliation of interests and social plan and were negotiated by employer and employee representatives, according to Weiden.
“We took advantage of the effects of natural fluctuation through a previously implemented hiring freeze and a restrictive personnel policy,” said the spokeswoman. “It is also important to say that the workforce reduction is just one of several measures. In order to save costs and optimize our business model, we have started projects in sales and purchasing that are realigning the Witt Group – both organizationally and in terms of fine-tuning our brands in order to make us fit for the future.”
There are various reasons why the Witt Group needs to save costs, including the reluctance to buy, which affects large parts of the textile industry and also affects the company’s sales development, as well as cost increases in advertising and personnel costs. In addition, investments in the three-digit million range are planned in online transformation over the next few years in order to prepare for the future and develop from a catalog to a multichannel provider.
