Gucci’s parent company Kering: Italian unions call for strike
According to the international news agency Reuters, Italy’s largest labor unions have called for a nationwide strike on May 20, 2026, at all companies belonging to the French luxury group Kering.
Kering operates numerous facilities in Italy and carries out a significant portion of its production there.
Kering CEO Luca de Meo calls this three-step plan “ReconKering,” a term he has associated with the concepts of “True Luxury” and “Next Luxury.” In essence, the plan focuses on strengthening financial discipline, refining product and pricing strategies, optimizing the retail network, and improving operational management.
The overarching goal is to get Kering back on track—especially since Gucci has been struggling for some time—and to steer the group back toward market leadership. Luca de Meo aims to more than double profit margins, streamline the retail network, and further expand the jewelry division.
Italian labor unions criticize what they see as a lack of transparency regarding the specific strategic implications, citing this as the reason for their call for a strike:
“This move comes after management refused to discuss a group-wide reorganization plan called ‘ReconKering’—which was never officially presented to the unions—and following the announcement of 54 job cuts at Alexander McQueen.”
