More than ten years after its arrival in Spain, Westwing, the furniture and home decor e-commerce group, announces a significant workforce reduction. In mid-January, the company informed its staff of an impending layoff procedure that will affect 102 workers in Spain, representing over 80% of its local workforce. The positions are almost entirely concentrated in Catalonia, split roughly between offices in Barcelona and a logistics center in Tarragona. The plan presented to employees is to retain about twenty staff in the offices, while dismantling the warehouse operation entirely.
According to El Periódico de Cataluña, from Grupo Prensa Ibérica, the multinational headquartered in Germany argues that the Spanish subsidiary is loss-making and that, consequently, the business is not viable. Workers, however, feel the company intends to manage its Spanish and Italian activities (where layoffs are also being prepared) from Germany and Poland, as was done years ago with France and the Netherlands.
They point to the latest 2023 accounts released by the parent, which show revenue around 400 million euros and positive EBITDA, while also noting public job postings on LinkedIn for roles in Germany and Poland that would be cut here, with one requirement being fluency in Spanish. In this view, if Westwing intends to relocate operations, there is no objective or legal basis for a collective dismissal as presented by the company.
Of particular concern are the severance terms laid out in the latest worker meeting: 23 days’ pay per year worked, a figure barely one day above the minimum allowed by law when the layoff is classified as a force majeure scenario.
The brand, known in Spain for collaborations with fashion and lifestyle influencers, reports between 13 and 19 million euros in revenue in the country, according to figures handled by the employees.
Threat of Strike
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Facing this situation, El Periódico de Cataluña has learned that the workforce is organizing to strike the week starting Monday, February 26. Catalonia is the company’s only operational hub in Spain, so a five-day strike could severely disrupt order processing and distribution within the country.
“The aim is to pressure the company to negotiate and reach an offer more aligned with the staff’s expectations,” say worker sources, who also claim the layoff hits vulnerable individuals for whom no additional protection measures have been proposed by the employer.
From the company’s side, executives insist they will do everything possible to support the employees affected. “We have been a fantastic team filled with bright people, but the circumstances are what they are,” says the Westwing Spain CEO, Victor García de Santiago, who serves as the company’s representative in these talks. His message mirrors the one shared with staff: the Spanish entity is reporting losses and the parent company intends to keep operating in the Spanish market under a new arrangement. This explains the staff cuts and, in general, what has been described as a “hard and emotional” process in which the aim is to be as understanding as possible.