Breitling tripled its staff in seven years — then cut 50 as the luxury slump bit

Breitling's modern era began in 2017, when CVC Capital Partners and Partners Group took the Grenchen watchmaker into private-equity ownership. Under the new owners the company rebuilt itself around aggressive expansion: headcount grew from about 750 to more than 2,000 by the end of 2024, and the group kept buying brands even as the market cooled — the high-end Universal Genève in 2023, and the entry-level Gallet in 2025, scheduled for relaunch in 2026.

The reckoning arrived with the accounts for the year ending 31 March 2026. Net sales fell 11% to CHF 769 million and adjusted EBITDA fell 21% to CHF 162 million. S&P Global Ratings had already downgraded the company to B- in July 2025, calling it 'more vulnerable' to adverse conditions. In 2026 Breitling cut more than 50 positions across its headquarters and subsidiaries globally — concentrated in HR, marketing and sustainability: the departments of the expansion itself.

The explanation was macro: softening luxury demand, a Swiss franc that gained more than 10% against the US dollar during the fiscal year, US tariffs, and Middle East conflict denting Dubai, a key growth region. A Swiss watchmaker with a franc-denominated cost base, selling into a dollar-priced luxury slump, takes both hits at once. Breitling and Partners Group declined to comment.

The case is a private-equity growth machine meeting the market it was built for after that market turned. The staff bill tripled while demand did not, and the acquisitions continued even as the layoffs began.