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.
Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Austria, United States
Sector
Wholesale / Retail 47 - Retail trade 47.7 - Retail sale of other goods, except motor vehicles and motorcycles 47.78 - Retail sale of other new goods
3,877 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
7 October 2025
Employment effect (start)
7 October 2025
Foreseen end date
Description
Claire’s, an American company specialising in fashion accessories, has announced that it will cut about 1,000 jobs across Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The cuts follow the bankruptcy of the retailer’s parent company in the United States in August 2025 and the acquisition of 156 stores by London-based private equity firm Modella Capital, which saved around 1,000 jobs. The remaining 145 stores will be closed, affecting roughly another 1,000 employees.
Claire’s collapse is attributed to high debt levels, rising operating costs, and the brand’s declining relevance among younger shoppers amid growing online competition.
Founded in 1961, Claire's operates more than 2,300 stores worldwide across about 17 countries in North America and Europe (including the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, and Austria).
Updated, 15/10/2025:
It is announced that Claire’s Accessories Spain has entered liquidation following the bankruptcy of its parent company in the United States in September 2025. As a result, 372 employees will lose their jobs across the country: Claire's 2025 - ES
In France, the company will retain 450 employees following the approval of two partial takeover offers by the Paris commercial court. In June, another jewellery group partially acquired the company, preserving 420 out of the 830 jobs at Claire’s France. Another buyer, La Casa de las Carcasas, a Spanish phone-case brand, will take over three other shops, saving 30 jobs. As a result, the remaining 380 Claire’s employees (including 31 managers) have not been offered new positions. A redundancy plan has been launched for the remaining workers, and most of them will be made redundant: Claire's 2025 - FR.
In Austria, Claire’s is also undergoing a restructuring plan following its insolvency, which resulted in the closure of 14 stores and the loss of 70 jobs.
These measures come after the US parent company filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the cut of approximately 2,055 jobs across the country.
Following the US filing, Claire’s businesses in Canada and Germany also went into administration.
Eurofound (2025), Claire's , Bankruptcy in World, factsheet number 203613, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/203613.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
