Reuters reported on May 1 that LVMH/Moët Hennessy plans to cut over 10% of its staff, which the brand implies is a correction as sales return to pre-pandemic levels. The total amounts to layoffs of 1,200 people, and the company’s CEO, Jean-Jacques Guiony, announced the imminent layoffs via a video message that circulated throughout the company.
Though just exactly when Moët’s Hennessy intends to make the cuts remains unclear, the drastic actions appear to be the result of a steep 9% drop in sales both within the U.S. and China.
The Spirits Business reported that LVMH’s spirits arm dropped by 17% within the first quarter of 2025 after an annual drop of 14% in 2024.
According to Global Data, the drop appears to not only be within the beverage sector but within the luxury goods arm of the company as a whole.
“Usually at LVMH when wines and spirits are not going well, fashion is doing well or some [other part of the business] is performing differently,” said Guinoy’s Deputy Alexandre Arnault in a statement. “Right now things are not going extremely well.”
Global Data reported that Guiony expressed that tariffs from America have added a new level of existential anxiety for the company.
LVMH and Möet Hennessy’s luxury retail empire was founded by Bernard Arnault, a French billionaire and one of the richest men in the world.
Interestingly enough, Bernard Arnault, Alexandre Arnault’s father, is a close friend to the American President Donald Trump. The New York Times reported in April that the Arnault family’s luxury goods empire still faces tariffs, regardless of the family’s close ties to the American president. Yet it appears the tariffs have not compromised the relationship between the President and the French billionaire.
Despite the fact that recent tariffs enforced by the current administration have caused LVMH share prices to drop by 35 percent, it appears the Arnault family is firmly backing President Trump. The French billionaire claimed that he would increase production in America should the tariffs continue.
LVMH is the parent company behind major fashion brands like Celine, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. As far as the brand’s wine and spirits arm, LVMH oversees Moët Hennessy’s portfolio, which consists of luxury spirits brands like Ardbeg, Dom Pérignon and Glenmorangie.
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