BERLIN: The crisis-hit German toy company behind Playmobil, the small plastic figures loved by children the world over, said on Monday that it was cutting 17 percent of its workforce.The Horst Brandstätter Group, named after its founder, plans to slash nearly 700 positions worldwide by 2025, 369 of them in Germany, amid long-running business woes.LAYOFFS This photograph taken on Aug. 9, 2023, shows Playmobil figurines dating from 1974, manufactured by the German company Geobra-Brandstätter, at a secondhand dealer in Pont-Audemer, France. The owner of the famous Playmobil plastic figurines announced on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, the removal of 17 percent of its workforce amid a backdrop of erosion in its sales around the world. AFP PHOTO 'The company management took this decision after a comprehensive analysis of all divisions and in light of the development of the business and current economic challenges,' it said in a statement.The 'fundamental restructuring' comes in the wake of 'the worst global recession since World War 2,' the group said, triggered by the Covid pandemic and compounded by the Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions.This had led to falls in sales and profit during the past two business years, it said. For the 2021-2022 business year, the group reported a 2.8-percent drop in turnover to 736 million euros ($773 million).With the job cuts, the group said it aims to transform into a 'lean and powerful, internationally well-positioned company' with strong investment in its core brands.It said it would work with labor representatives to minimize the impacts on employees by encouraging early retirement or transfers to other business divisions within the group.In 1958, the company launched the first hula-hoop which went on to become a worldwide hit.When the oil crisis drove up the cost of plastic manufacturing in the 1970s, Brandstätter asked the company's master mold-maker Hans Beck to develop a completely new toy system that could be continually expanded.Beck came up with the 7.5-centimeter (3-inch) play figures. The initial three models ― a knight, a construction worker and a Native American ― were introduced to the public in 1974.Today, the figures range from police and pirates to fairies and clowns.Danish competitor Lego said in August that its net profit fell in the first half of the year but its market share grew as sales rose slightly.In contrast to Playmobil, Lego saw three years of record-breaking sales boosted by lockdowns during the Covid pandemic, a feat attributed to the success of its 'Star Wars' and Lego Icons lines.
