Placed in receivership, the French subsidiary of the Turkish fast delivery group Getir announced Wednesday in a statement to consider "the elimination of about 900 jobs" in France, out of some 1,800 according to the unions, and the closure of "some" dark stores. This project of "reorganization", 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 that had also been placed in receivership by the Paris Commercial Court, says the group.
When asked, Getir declined to disclose his numbers. However, according to the CFDT, the group has 900 jobs in France (fixed-term and permanent contracts), Gorillas, 500, and Frichti, 400. The group said it would pay the "required legal allowances" and implement "the reclassification of some 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 cell".
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An unfavourable contextual environment
The announcement comes nearly two years after Getir arrived in the country with much fanfare. The Turkish company then claimed its status as a precursor of "quick commerce", namely the ultra-fast delivery at home - or at work - of a basket of groceries that customers no longer had to pick up in a supermarket. This trend emerged thanks to the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic and benefited from very significant fundraising in 2021 and 2022. But the business is now struggling to reach profitability.
At the end of March 2023, the group's total debt was around 17.6 million euros, according to an internal note. Getir France explains that he has borne the brunt of "an unfavourable contextual environment" with, in particular, inflation and a "high level of rents and a very large number of leases". He also argued in April that the regulations were "creating additional complexities." An allusion to the government's decision to pave the way for town halls to regulate the location of "dark stores", the premises where the products to be delivered are stored.