Gucci Italia employees protest over unpaid welfare benefits

Approximately 1,000 retail and logistics employees at Kering-owned Gucci Italia are staging a protest. In a statement, trade unions Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs declared industrial action. This follows the company's refusal to distribute welfare payments, as stipulated in an expired collective agreement.

The unions highlighted how Gucci management had, on several occasions, given assurances regarding these payments for 2025. This welfare package was introduced under a collective agreement signed in July 2022, which expired on 31 December 2024. Gucci now intends to link these payments to a comprehensive review of the incentive scheme in place for 2022-24.

"The company's conduct is purely instrumental. They have wasted valuable time and disregarded the employees who work hard in stores every day and are still waiting for their welfare payments," the unions stated.

"We will not accept an unfavourable exchange that removes protections from one area to benefit another. We consider the company's behaviour to be very serious. Therefore, we are declaring industrial action at a national level, with possible union actions to be communicated locally."

FashionUnited has contacted Gucci for comment.

Luxury group Kering continues to grapple with difficulties at its flagship brand, Gucci. The company reported a 46 percent drop in net profit for the first half of the year, falling below 500 million euros. Kering's revenue declined by 16 percent in the same period, to 7.6 billion euros.

Gucci, which accounts for almost 50 percent of the group's sales and two-thirds of its operating profit, saw sales fall by 26 percent in the first half of the year to three billion euros, compared to over four billion euros the previous year. In the second quarter, Gucci's sales dropped by 27 percent to 1.46 billion euros.

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