Job cuts have hit the beauty industry hard in 2025 as many of the biggest names in the industry look to streamline their businesses in the face of falling sales.
A plethora of problems have culminated in beauty giants such as Estée Lauder Companies, Unilever, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Coty reducing staffing by hundreds and even thousands to save money.
Meanwhile, the likes of Chanel, Kenvue and Shiseido have not escaped cutbacks in a challenging environment for both luxury and mass market.
With automation and AI accelerating, further streamlining into 2026 looks inevitable
“The current wave of job cuts is a structural reset,” Nnenna Onuba, a Strategic Growth and M&A Adviser for the beauty industry, told Cosmetics Business.
“Giants like Unilever and Coty are eliminating thousands of roles to strip out hundreds of millions in fixed costs, while others adjust to inflation, China’s volatility, and a plateau in travel retail.”
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