Slow watch sales push Richemont to cut staff

Swiss luxury goods giant Richemont will cut 210 jobs at its Piaget and Vacheron Constantin high-end watchmakers, a union source said Monday. The world's second-biggest luxury group had warned earlier this month that it would have to deal with overcapacity issues as sales of exclusive watches were facing such a tough time it was buying some pieces back from retailers.

The Unia union plans to hold meetings Tuesday with staff at the four facilities affected, a union leader told the Swiss news agency ATS. At the beginning of 2016, Richment announced it would cut 300 to 350 jobs including at its top brand Cartier. But in the end, accounting for retirements and retraining, it only dismissed 100 staff.

In the first half of its fiscal year which ended September 30, Richement earned 540 million euros (579 million US dollars ) in net profit, a drop of 51 percent from the same time last year, as sales slid by 13 percent to 5.1 billion euros. The luxury watch sector has seen tough times since Chinese authorities banned giving expensive gifts as part of an anti-corruption crackdown in 2013, followed by democracy protests in 2014 hitting sales in Hong Kong. (AFP)

Photo: Piaget, Facebook