In the memory of cross-border workers and Swiss alike, this has never happened. Two days off per week for a minimum of three months is unheard of for employees of the Jeager-Lecoultre watch manufacturer, located in Sentier (Switzerland). Since the week of December 9 and until the end of February, the company closes its doors on Thursdays and Fridays. Partial unemployment called Reduction of working hours (RHT) on the Swiss side.
Some workshops have even been closed since last week. The employees concerned will not set foot in the factory again until March, at best. A situation which echoes the difficulties encountered by fine watchmaking since the start of 2024.
Fall of the Chinese market
As indicated Progress in September, over the first six months of 2024, Swiss watch exports recorded a drop of 3.3% compared to the same half-year in 2023. This is largely explained by the economic crisis and consumption experienced by China, the main outlet for Jeager-Lecoultre.
With “a high unemployment rate among young people, a crisis in the real estate sector and a deterioration in the climate of confidence”, the time is no longer really for the Chinese to buy luxury watches. Which brings the Hong Kong people in their wake. To this must be added a strong franc. And this leads to postponements or even cancellations of orders.
A new general director at the head of the factory
It is in this less than reassuring atmosphere that a new general director was appointed at the head of Jeager-Lecoultre, in the person of Jérôme Lambert. He knows the house well since he managed it from 2002 to 2013. Before obtaining the same position at the head of the luxury group Richemont, to which Jeager reports.
When contacted, the Richemont press service did not respond to our requests. In an online article in the Journal du luxe, we can read that, “in its first half of 2024 activity ended last September, the Richemont watchmaking houses saw their sales decline by 16% compared to the previous year. Jeager-Lecoultre is in fact not the only watch manufacturer in the canton of Vaud to suffer from a lack of work at the moment. Subcontractors are also affected.
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