Overview
- A labour arbitration panel approved a social plan in early July that covers roughly 2,100 Erfurt employees but does not fund a transfer company for retraining.
- Zalando is preparing the Erfurt site for shutdown with reduced inbound goods, plans to abandon the location at the end of September, and has set aside about €80 million to cover the social plan and related risks.
- Works council figures show about 1,800 Erfurt employees have permanent contracts while roughly 300 are on fixed-term contracts that will expire as the site winds down.
- Reports cite internal documents that Zalando is seeking further voluntary departures at its Berlin headquarters, with around 200 roles named in press coverage though the company has not confirmed that headcount or location.
- Zalando is building a Bucharest office slated to open by year-end with about 60 initial hires planned by early next year, a move the company says will allow it to relocate some positions and processes over time and reshape its Europe-wide logistics after the About You takeover.