Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Hofer, an Austrian food discount retailer operating over 540 stores and employing approximately 12,000 people, has announced a potential reduction of a three-digit number of administrative jobs in its human resources, accounting, and other back-office units across Tirol, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Carinthia, and Styria.
The restructuring is part of a multi-stage cost-efficiency initiative called “Projekt Fokus”, involving both internal reassignments and the outsourcing of certain functions to external service providers abroad, including India. Affected positions are expected to be primarily permanent full-time administrative roles, while store staff remain unaffected. Employees will be informed in detail on 10 September 2025, and efforts will be made to relocate staff to other departments and establish a social plan.
Job reduction measures are expected to include outsourcing to foreign service providers and internal reassignment where feasible. No confirmed layoffs have yet taken place, but the measures could also indirectly impact suppliers or service partners handling outsourced processes.
The company management emphasizes that continuous process optimization is part of Hofer’s corporate culture, citing previous steps such as outsourcing repetitive purchasing and accounting functions to Genpact and relocating some procurement tasks to the Aldi Süd Holding in Salzburg.
Hofer is a major Austrian retailer with a long-standing presence in the food discount sector and maintains a strong focus on efficiency improvements.
Eurofound (2025), Hofer, Outsourcing in Austria, factsheet number 203284, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203284.