Alexander McQueen fashion house to cut a third of Italy staff, unions say

McQueen's Workforce Restructuring

MILAN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Luxury fashion house Alexander McQueen, owned by France's Kering, plans to cut about a third of its workforce in Italy in a restructuring aimed at reaching break-even after a 60% drop in revenue over the past three years, unions said on Wednesday.

The London‑based label last year confirmed job cuts in its UK office as part of a broader strategic review.

McQueen employs about 180 workers across its three Italian units, a union official told Reuters, warning that the restructuring could also have repercussions for the brand's Italian supply chain.

Union Response and Consultation

Union representatives, who met company management earlier this week, said McQueen described an emergency scenario marked by a sharp decline in sales volumes and units produced.

Kering's Support for McQueen

Union leaders are set to meet Kering CEO Luca De Meo on Feb. 5.

McQueen said in a statement to Reuters that is was "commencing a formal consultation process with unions in its Italian business."

"This is part of the group-wide effort to return the business to sustainable profitability over the next three years", it said.

Kering, which is also facing business headwinds, said in a statement that it "fully supports McQueen in its ongoing strategic transformation" and is confident the measures will strengthen McQueen's position in the global luxury market.

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, editing by Gavin Jones)