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.
Wholesale / Retail 47 - Retail trade 47.1 - Non-specialised retail sale 47.11 - Non-specialised retail sale of predominately food, beverages or tobacco
250 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
20 November 2025
Employment effect (start)
20 November 2025
Foreseen end date
31 January 2026
Description
Billa, an Austrian retail firm in the food sector, announced the discontinuation of its home delivery service in Vienna, affecting 250 employees across two warehouse units.
The decision is driven by changing consumer behavior and high costs associated with last-mile deliveries, with the company shifting orders to click-and-collect and third-party express delivery platforms. The affected jobs are primarily full-time warehouse and logistics positions; no new roles will be created, and the warehouses themselves will remain operational.
Billa management plans to support internal transfers for employees within the company and facilitate reallocation where possible, while external delivery partners may also be impacted.
Billa, part of the Rewe Group, operates a large network of supermarkets across Austria and has previously explored online retail services. This step follows broader trends in the Austrian market where online food delivery has struggled to scale sustainably.
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.
