H&M agreed to ERE with 492 layoffs and compensation at the legal maximum | Companies

Unions UGT and CC OO have reached an agreement with the Swedish textile group H&M on its proposed collective redundancies in its Spanish subsidiary, the initial impact of which reached 529 layoffs with the closure of 28 stores.

The parties agreed there would be 492 redundancies, 96 fewer than under the original approach, with compensation similar to unfair dismissals up to the statutory maximum, which is one of the core demands of union representation. As happened in the group’s previous ERE, three years ago H&M will pay 45 days of 24 monthly payments to those with a contract before 2012, when the labor reform came into force, and 33 days from that date. In addition, a payment of €2,500 will be paid to those with zero to five years of work experience; 3500 for children from five to 10 years old; and 4,500 euros for those who have been working in the company for more than 10 years. Participation in field events will be voluntary.

“This was possible because we achieved our priority goals of minimizing the initial impact, positions with more days than initially offered by the company, and voluntariness and good exit conditions for people who were ultimately affected” by avoiding such traumatic layoffs,” the two unions said in a joint statement.

Another of the signed points is the opening of 48 vacancies for staff affected by store closures, with a 24-hour work week and 27 with more than 12 hours. Employees over 50 will have access to a support and relocation plan until they find a new job.

The company’s justification for the adjustment was that it needed to “locate our stores in the right locations and be competitive.” “We continually evaluate and optimize our store portfolio to align it with our global strategy and to meet our customers’ expectations,” the company said in a statement when it announced the ERE decision. “This includes providing top locations that are relevant to our customers, improving the shopping experience at our current stores, actively pursuing new opportunities and making decisions to close stores when necessary.”

The signing of the ERE in mid-2021 resulted in 350 layoffs, but the net result was that there were more: the average workforce in 2023 was 3,600, down 455 from two years earlier.