Kik, Zalando, Otto—several companies are currently cutting jobs on a large scale. It is often overlooked that this not only affects “small” employees, but also means that many managers have to leave. Some decision-makers are also looking to jump ship because they sense that their company is in trouble, or because the current pressure is making their work less enjoyable. In any case, our phones are ringing more frequently than ever before.
It is a delicate situation from the perspective of both the companies and the managers affected. After all, we are not just dealing with a cyclical dip, but with a structural change that is now accelerating under pressure. New business models are creating different requirements. The work of a buyer in specialist retail has practically nothing to do with that of a vendor manager at Amazon. A sales director at a wholesale brand who negotiates with Hagemayer about a shop today and with P&C about SMUs tomorrow but doesn’t know what Zalando wants from him and how to deal with the marketplace issue, will have a hard time. A marketing director who has to have his young employees explain to him what’s popular on TikTok and what’s cringe, and who, instead, prefers to fly to South Africa for a shoot as always (because of the “great light,” of course), is no longer needed. And a show like GNTM, which exploits young people’s dreams of becoming princesses becomes a complete illusion if models are now replaced by AI-generated beauties. All that remains is a career on Instagram. “Germany’s Next Top Influencer” doesn’t need ProSieben to build its reputation.
Digitalization has already put a lot of stress on many organizations, not only because new players are making the market tighter, but also because digital tools are changing the way we work. AI is now rolling in, and its effects cannot yet be estimated, but it will probably bring more or less major changes to every single job. People in the fashion industry like to see themselves as drivers of innovation who are at the forefront of developments. However, they often find technology more difficult to deal with than other industries. This is one reason why digital business models have been so successful in this industry in particular.
In the future, companies will need fewer but better qualified and more productive people. At every single workplace. These professionals must be developed internally or recruited externally. Even though more people are currently being laid off than hired, the war for talent will continue to be fought just as intensely in the future.
