Pandora slashes 180 jobs in restructuring bid

Pandora announced it is to slash 180 jobs “as a consequence of strategic reorganisation”.

The news came as the jewellery group detailed its next steps for restructuring programme, Programme NOW.

In its latest update, the group said it would close three regional organisations, thereby “eliminating an organisational layer” between global headquarters and local markets. The new organisation will take effect from 2 April 2020. 

As part of this reorganisation, jobs in regional offices and markets will now be lost. The group also announced that three regional presidents will step down from the executive leadership team. 

David Allen, currently president of Pandora EMEA, will stay with Pandora and support Programme NOW, while Sid Keswani, current president of Pandora Americas, will become president of the North America cluster. Kenneth Madsen, current president of Pandora Asia Pacific, will leave the company.

Some 100 markets where Pandora currently operates will now be grouped into 10 clusters, each one led by a general manager from the “largest market in the cluster”. These managers will in turn report to a newly established COO position.

The jewellery giant also said it would establish two Global Business Units, both with “end-to-end responsibility” for product performance. One Global Business Unit will be responsible for core products including Moments, Charms and collaborations. The other unit will drive newer product categories and innovations. 

The Global Business Units will report to the recently appointed chief marketing officer (CMO), Carla Liuni, who begins her role on 16 March 2020.

Alexander Lacik, president and CEO of Pandora, said: “With today’s announcement, we bring our global headquarters closer to our local markets and consumers, and ensure that feedback from consumers can more quickly fuel new concept creations.

“The reorganisation will reduce organisational complexity, enable Pandora to execute with more speed and agility, and add critical capabilities required to support growth.”

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Pandora currently employs 28,000 people worldwide and has 7,400 points of sale.