Estée Lauder scales up global job cuts to up to 10,000, mainly affecting point‑of‑sale roles

The revised target, up from an earlier estimate of 5,800 to 7,000 cuts, would affect about 17.5% of the company’s global workforce.

The Estée Lauder Companies plans to cut between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs globally, scaling up from a prior estimate of 5,800 to 7,000, as it accelerates its restructuring efforts.

The beauty group disclosed the revised plan in its fiscal 2026 third-quarter results, noting that more than 70% of the increase in this planned job reductions will come from cuts in “point-of-sale demonstration roles at select unproductive doors in its department store and freestanding store channels”, as it continues to “evolve its focus towards high-growth channels”.

The company added that the final net reduction takes into account “the elimination of positions after retraining and redeployment of certain employees in select areas”.

At the time of writing, checks on Estée Lauder's site showed that as of June 2025, the company employed around 57,000 people worldwide. As such, the upper end of the revised job reduction plan would amount to approximately 17.5% of its global workforce.

The expanded job cuts form part of Estée Lauder's broader restructuring programme, which includes:

• reorganisation and rightsizing of certain areas,
• simplification and acceleration of processes,
• outsourcing of select services, and
• evolution of go-to-market footprint and selling models.

While implementation costs are now expected to increase from $1.2bn and $1.6bn to $1.5bn and $1.7bn, driven by employee-related costs, asset-related costs, contract terminations, and other restructuring charges, the programme is also expected to deliver $1bn to $1.2bn in annual gross benefits. These savings are intended to help restore operating margin, offset inflation, and fuel increased reinvestments in consumer-facing areas to drive sustainable sales growth.

In fact, Estée Lauder reported solid year-to-date performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, with net sales rising 5% to $3.7bn, while organic net sales increased 2%.

Stéphane de La Faverie, President and CEO of The Estée Lauder Companies, described fiscal 2026 as “the pivotal year we intended”, in which the company restores organic sales growth and expands its adjusted operating margin for the first time in four years.

The company has raised its full‑year fiscal 2026 outlook, while remaining cautious amidst ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, including business disruptions in the Middle East and continued headwinds in key markets, particularly in the West.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, de La Faverie said: “Our preliminary view is to accelerate organic sales growth and for adjusted operating margin to approach 13%, albeit in an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic environment.”

Estée Lauder added that it will continue to transform its operating model to improve cost leverage and drive efficiencies across the organisation, with further details to be provided in August 2026 when it reports its fiscal 2026 results.

The scaled-up job reductions also come as Estée Lauder is in discussions over a potential business combination with Puig, though no final decision or agreement has been reached. Citing eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves, Reuters reported that the expanded scope of job cuts may signal that “Estée Lauder will be able to shed more positions on its side while retaining Puig employees”.

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