Consultation opened at Le Locle

Zenith, the watch brand owned by the French luxury group LVMH, has opened a consultation procedure for a collective redundancy at its manufacture in Le Locle, in the canton of Neuchâtel. A spokeswoman confirmed the step to the Swiss news agency AWP and to AFP after the daily Le Temps first reported it. According to an internal source, about 100 of the 196 jobs at the site are affected, while another 101 positions in the international distribution network are also at stake. Le Temps put the manufacture's headcount at 200 staff, so the baseline figure differs between reports. The company said it would release no further details until the consultation is complete. Worldwide, the plan involves around 200 jobs.

Staff told on Thursday morning

Employees learned of the plan on Thursday morning, 22 October, when chief executive Benoît de Clerck addressed them. Le Temps obtained a transcript of part of his remarks, and he has led the brand since January 2024. He told staff the brand is going through a difficult period in its mid-range segment and pointed to several pressures:

“We are all going through a very difficult period in what we call our intermediate segment.”

He cited the strong Swiss franc, US tariffs and falling demand in key markets such as the Middle East and Asia. He also referred to job-cut announcements by competitors, including Montblanc, which had announced cuts at Le Locle. He added that Zenith was not immune to that climate.

Repositioning on high watchmaking

Zenith plans to step away from its existing market and concentrate on the top luxury tier, which Le Temps calls haute horlogerie. The brand's current core market sits between 8,000 and 15,000 Swiss francs, according to Le Temps. The strategy rests partly on the Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135, a model that won a prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève and starts just below 50,000 francs, roughly 54,000 euros at the current exchange rate. An internal source said the shift is a question of survival, because planned production volumes no longer match demand. The reorganisation is due to be completed in 2029, and the brand has posted losses year after year since a post-Covid rebound, although some collections sell well.

Le Locle manufacture (of 196 jobs)100

International distribution network101

Le Locle manufacture (of 196 jobs)

100 jobs

International distribution network

101 jobs

Data from the article text

Market pressures and sale rumours

Sources describe the slowdown as lasting rather than temporary. An internal source said the market has changed durably and that structural problems weigh on the company. The production and distribution organisation is oversized and drives up costs, the source added. In the same address to staff, the chief executive said:

“This is not an air pocket, it is a market that has durably changed.”

LVMH firmly rejected rumours of a sale of the loss-making brand in January 2026. The internal source again denied any plan to sell the brand.

Unions and next steps

The consultation period between the social partners opens on Monday, 26 October, to look for solutions. The union Unia plans to meet employees that same Monday. Zenith said it wants to look for alternatives inside the LVMH group and with other companies in the region for the roughly 100 employees facing dismissal. In the address, the chief executive also said:

“Our House nevertheless has real assets to put forward: our history, our savoir-faire, our exceptional calibres.”