Swarovski cut 400 jobs and the night shift at Wattens — after its best year in five

On 6–7 November 2025 Swarovski told its Austrian workforce that about 400 of the roughly 2,480 jobs at its Wattens headquarters and production site would go by the end of 2026 — through layoffs starting in January 2026, voluntary departures and early retirements. Most night shifts would be eliminated, three-shift operation cut to two. If the remaining staff refuse a proposed 10% reduction in working hours, the number could rise to 500.

The reasons were the familiar ledger of a high-cost European production site: weakening B2B business — the components trade that was long Swarovski's foundation — poor prospects in China and in luxury generally, adverse macro conditions, and high domestic costs for labour, energy and raw materials. The cuts extend a long contraction: around 600 jobs went between January 2023 and October 2025, and more than 5,000 have been lost since 2007. Wattens employed 4,600 in 2020.

The uncomfortable detail is the timing. FY2024 was Swarovski's best year in a while: revenue up 6% to €1.9 billion, double-digit EBITDA growth, and the first positive operating result in five years. The cuts came anyway. Erwin Zangerl, president of the Tyrol workers' chamber, called the announcement 'a declaration of bankruptcy for the group management's strategy' and said the commitments to the Wattens site 'were, as feared, merely lip service'.

Recovery, it turned out, was not enough to save the production site. The crystal business can recover its numbers and still cut where the numbers are made.