Wine brands feel the squeeze

From Champagne to cheap table wine, the global wine industry is under pressure, with both LVMH’s Moët Hennessy and budget-friendly Bronco Wine Co. announcing major job cuts amid falling sales.

LVMH’s Moët Hennessy division, known for prestige brands like Moët & Chandon and Hennessy Cognac, plans to cut over 10% of its workforce, or around 1,200 roles, bringing staffing back to 2019 levels. The move follows a 9% sales slump in Q1, particularly in the US and China, and forms part of a broader reorganisation under executive Alexandre Arnault.

At the other end of the market, California’s Bronco Wine Co., famed for producing Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck”, is also cutting costs. After already shedding 81 workers in April, Bronco plans to lay off a further 146 employees in June, citing “economic pressures” and a need to restructure for long-term resilience.