Estee Lauder: beauty and perfume companies to cut UK jobs amid Donald Trump 'trade war' concerns - news
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- Estée Lauder plans to increase job cuts to up to 7,000 as part of a global restructuring
- The company aims to save up to $1 billion (£805 million) to address potential tariff hikes
- The job cuts will impact employees worldwide, with a focus on retraining and redeploying some staff
- The move is driven by concerns over a global trade war and changes in operating models
- Estée Lauder will boost investments in consumer-facing efforts funded by the cost-saving plan
A multinational beauty and cosmetics giant has revealed plans to significantly increase the number of previously announced job cuts, raising the total to as many as 7,000.
The Estée Lauder Companies - which owns a diverse portfolio of brands, including Estée Lauder, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Clinique, and Tom Ford Beauty - revealed the plans as part of a broader cost-saving restructuring effort.
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Hide AdThe company is preparing for potential tariff hikes amid concerns over a global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump's policies.
The company has said it will increase job losses from an initially planned 3,000 to a range of 5,800 to 7,000 in order to achieve savings of up to 1 billion US dollars (£805 million).
The figures account for the net impact, including efforts to retrain and redeploy some employees into different roles. The jobs are set to go by the end of June 2026.
Estée Lauder was founded in 1946 by businesswoman Estée Lauder and her husband, Joseph Lauder, in New York City.
Initially starting with just four products - skin creams and lotions - the brand grew rapidly thanks to Estée’s personal selling approach, demonstrating her products to customers directly.
Over the years, Estée Lauder expanded globally and acquired several other high-end beauty brands, such as Clinique, La Mer, and Jo Malone, solidifying its position as a major player in the beauty industry.
Known for its luxury skincare, makeup, and fragrances, the brand has become synonymous with quality and innovation in the beauty world.
The job cuts are expected to affect employees worldwide, though Estée Lauder – which employs around 62,000 people worldwide – did not say what the impact might be in the UK or how many jobs are going per country.
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Hide AdEstée Lauder Cosmetics employs around 4,400 staff in the UK and Ireland, according to the latest set of accounts for the UK division at Companies House.
The company said the move to slash more jobs and costs is partly down to concerns over possible tariff increases, which follow plans by Trump to slap penalties on goods from Mexico, Canada and China.
A company spokesperson said the expanded plan is meant to change the way the company operates to help boost sales growth, bring back a strong double-digit operating margin in the next few years, and handle outside challenges, like possible tariff hikes worldwide.
Estée Lauder’s newly appointed president and chief executive, Stephane de La Faverie, said the group, which also counts MAC make-up among its raft of brands, will boost “consumer-facing investments” around the world in its third quarter, partly funded by the cost-cutting plan.
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