Placed in receivership, the French subsidiary of the Turkish fast delivery group Getir announced in a press release on Wednesday that it was considering “the elimination of around 900 jobs” in France, out of some 1,800 according to the unions, and the closure of “certain” dark stores . This “reorganization” project, presented to the Social and Economic Committee, aims to “ensure the sustainability of the presence of the Getir group in France”, which owns Gorillas and Frichti, two subsidiaries which had also been placed in receivership by the court of trade in Paris, specifies the group.
When questioned, Getir refused to communicate his numbers. However, according to the CFDT, the group has 900 jobs in France (CDD and CDI), Gorillas, 500, and Frichti, 400. The group has indicated that it will pay the “legal indemnities required” and will implement “the reclassification of certain employees within one of the three entities” as well as “personalized professional support to help employees find a new job elsewhere” and “a psychological support unit”.
This announcement comes almost two years after Getir’s arrival in the country with a bang. The Turkish company then claimed its status as a precursor of “quick commerce”, namely the ultra-fast and home delivery – or at the workplace – of a shopping basket that customers no longer had to pick up. in a supermarket. This trend emerged thanks to the confinements of the Covid-19 pandemic and benefited from very significant fundraising in 2021 and 2022. But the activity is now struggling to achieve profitability.
At the end of March 2023, the group’s total debt was around 17.6 million euros, according to an internal memo. Getir France explains that it paid the price for “an unfavorable contextual environment” with, in particular, inflation and a “high level of rents and a very large number of leases”. He had also argued in April a change in the regulations “creating additional complexities”. An allusion to the government’s decision to pave the way for town halls to regulate the establishment of “dark stores”, the premises where the products to be delivered are stored.
