Even Zalando in the Corona crisis: online giant announces harsh changes

As a result of the Corona crisis, Zalando's employees take violent austerity measures. What else the management tries to do.

• Online giant Zalando is struggling with slumps in sales due to the Corona crisis
• The company has decided to save € 350 million
• The board wants to forego 25 percent of the salary

Berlin - The Corona crisis dampens people's buying mood. This affects not only brick-and-mortar retailers, but also online giants such as Zalando . For the first quarter of the current year, the company expects an operating loss of significantly more than 28 million euros and has decided drastic cost-cutting measures .

Zalando collapses in income due to the corona crisis

The company wants to save 350 million euros. For employees, this means that the salary increases will be postponed from July until January next year, according to Business Insider .

According to this, the management wants to participate in the austerity measures and cut its own salary by 25 percent, the salary of the second management level by 15 percent. In addition, massive savings should be made on advertising expenditure. But cuts are also pending in the areas of logistics and investment.

Zalando is reacting to the Corona crisis with comprehensive austerity measures

"We have defined holistic measures to reduce costs and ensure our financial stability," a spokeswoman for Zalando told Business Insider. In this way, layoffs are to be avoided, according to the spokeswoman - even though the company has so far not been squeamish about layoffs.

Overall, the company is optimistic that it will emerge stronger from the crisis. "We are convinced that through the investments of the past decade we have created all the necessary conditions to weather this crisis well," the spokeswoman told Business Insider.

Perhaps the fashion company will also be helped by customers who are shaken by the news and are surprised like Twitter user Emmanuelle: "Everyone is at home and shopping online and #Zalando manages to write bad numbers in time?" Writes she. "How do they do that?"

Everyone is at home and shopping online and #Zalando is able to write bad numbers in time? How do they do it? https://t.co/appZCubjNH

A sign that the company is far from giving up is the ongoing actions to build up its own customers in times of curfew - but also to strengthen companies. For example, the online giant, which has seen environmental campaigns several times in the past, recently partnered with Ashoka, the global network of social entrepreneurs, to promote other helpful ideas in the corona crisis.

Loud warning calls also come from Munich's dealers.

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / Frank Rumpenhorst