Source: Monika Skolimowska/dpa/archive image
Fielmann had recorded a slump in profits in 2022. The company now wants to modernize itself by cutting jobs. In the branches, everything will remain as usual, they say. There are even hundreds of vacancies for opticians and audiologists.
Dhe Hamburg optician group Fielmann is planning to cut hundreds of jobs. Initially, 66 jobs are to be saved through a volunteer program by June next year, a company spokeswoman said on Friday of the German Press Agency (dpa). Hundreds of other jobs will then be eliminated by 2025.
A total of 22,600 people are currently employed at Fielmann. Only central areas that are remote from customers are affected by the job cuts. Everything remains the same in the branches, and there are even hundreds of vacancies for opticians and audiologists. The business magazine “Business Insider” had reported on the plan.
The Fielmann Group wants to align its central departments with the internationally growing omnichannel model, the spokeswoman justified the job cuts. “We are digitizing, automating and standardizing our core processes in order to become cost leaders again and thus remain price leaders.”
Fielmann reported a slump in profits for 2022 just over a week ago. Group sales increased by 5 percent to EUR 1.76 billion. However, the pre-tax result fell by 23.4 percent to EUR 160.7 million compared to the previous year.
The after-tax profit will be around 110 million euros and thus 23.9 percent below the previous year’s value. Fielmann therefore wants to halve the dividend per share from 1.50 euros to 75 cents and only pay out 63 million euros instead of 126 million euros. The Annual General Meeting on July 13 will have the final say.