VF Corp. confirmed it has proposed terminating between 70 to 80 workers at its EMEA headquarters in Stabio, Switzerland as part of its ongoing turnaround plans.
“Employees, relevant offices, authorities and unions have all been informed, and the employee consultation process has been initiated, according to the terms defined by local laws,” said a company spokesperson in an email to SESO.
The layoffs are part of VF’s efforts to return to growth and pay down debt. The details of the turnaround strategy, dubbed Reinvent, was outlined at an Investor Day in November 2024, where CEO Bracken Darrell and CFO Paul Vogel warned that more cost-cutting would be necessary. Brand leaders such as Caroline Brown of The North Face and Sun Choe of Vans shared specifics about their plans to grow the brands at a subsequent Investor Day event earlier this month.
“This turnaround strategy includes a global reorganization process which will align organizational structures with the new business model, make the company more efficient by streamlining the organization and its processes, and invest in projects and growth opportunities,” the spokesperson said.
VF Corp. employed approximately 28,000 as of Dec. 31. That’s 5,000 fewer workers than the company employed at the end of fiscal year 2023. In January, the company announced more layoffs were being implemented, but did not share how many employees or what areas of the business would be affected.
The 70 to 80 proposed layoffs in Stabio, which was first reported by The Spin Off, represent about 1% of the 7,500 employees in EMEA and 6% of the 1,200 employees in the Stabio office, the spokesperson said. The announcement affects selected areas of The North Face, Vans, Timberland and Napapijri brands.
VF moved its offices to Stabio in 2013 after a period of about 10 years in the Lugano area. Since then, the company grew from about 300 to 1,200 employees today. In 2024, the VF Group hired about 130 people in Stabio and more than 300 in the entire EMEA region, not including new hires in stores and logistics centers. Currently, there are about 50 open positions in the EMEA region, 10 of which are in Stabio, the spokesperson said.
The Stabio campus renovation, which includes constructing a new 2,500-square-meter VF-owned building, is still in progress and is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2025.
“These changes are never easy and VF is committed to handling the process with empathy and respect toward employees potentially affected by the reorganization,” the spokesperson said. Should the layoffs be confirmed, the company will create a social plan designed to reduce its impact.
“VF is confident that the proposed changes will provide a stronger foundation to support the company’s growth and value creation goals,” the spokesperson said.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
