Weleda agrees with unions, 127 jobs cut

“Between the plague and cholera, we tried to get the maximum for the employees who are going to be made redundant. This is how CFTC delegate Laurence Saturni reacted to the agreement reached between the unions and the management of the Weleda group. The two present this Wednesday in CSE an agreement for the plan to safeguard employment, resulting in the elimination of 127 positions out of 280. These will mainly affect the Huningue (Haut-Rhin) factory of the Swiss giant, destabilized by reimbursement of homeopathy.

The agreement, the details of which have not been disclosed, is part of a project “essential to allow Weleda France to return to growth”, said Ludovic Rassat, chairman of the management board of Weleda France, in a press release on Tuesday.

According to the regional daily Latest News from Alsacethe turnover of Weleda France, which amounted to 95 million euros in 2019, has fallen by 36% since this date, plagued by the end of the reimbursement of homeopathic products effective since January 2021.

Production repatriated to Germany

The first departures from Huningue, where the company has been based since 1924, should take place in February. “Those who leave are sad and those who stay are worried,” summarizes Ms. Saturni, according to whom the group has “sacrificed France” in the distribution of its activities.

“Pharmaceutical” production will be repatriated to Germany, to the Schwäbisch Gmünd site located about fifty kilometers east of Stuttgart, according to Ms. Saturni.

The group, which employs 2,500 people worldwide, indicated this summer that it wanted to focus on its self-medication activity for the French market, after launching in 2018 on the food supplements segment.