Moët Hennessy Champagne workers strike over unpaid profit share
Staff at LVMH’s Champagne arm have walked out after management confirmed the annual profit-sharing bonus would not be paid for the first time since 1968.
Workers at Moët Hennessy Champagne Services staged strike action on 15 January 2026 after a call from the French union CGT. The stoppage followed protests in December 2025 and came after negotiations over pay and bonuses failed to reach an agreement.
As per the CGT, staff gathered outside the Les Crayères site of Veuve Clicquot in Reims and downed tools for at least three hours. Similar action had already taken place on 11 December at Moët and Chandon in Épernay, marking the first visible signs of unrest.
Profit-sharing bonus withheld for first time
At the centre of the dispute is the decision by Moët Hennessy Champagne Services, part of LVMH, not to pay its annual profit-sharing bonus. According to the CGT, the payment usually accounts for between 15 and 30 per cent of employees’ annual salaries and has been paid every year since the business was founded in 1968.
Management at Moët Hennessy Champagne Services cited declining financial results for the second consecutive year as the reason for withholding the bonus. Union representatives dispute this rationale, arguing that the wider group still paid an advance dividend to shareholders despite the downturn.
Talks break down over compensation offer
Tensions rose further after a wage negotiation meeting on 8 January between management and union representatives from CGT and CGC CFE ended without agreement. Management offered a one-off compensation payment of €1,000 gross per employee, which unions described as completely inadequate, according to Vinteur.
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As reported by Reuters, CGT representatives from the Moët and Veuve Clicquot champagne houses urged workers to continue striking to pressure management to compensate staff for lost bonuses. A CGT official said in a video message that it was really important to continue to put pressure on the company, adding that further talks were planned. The company has declined to comment publicly on the dispute.
Financial pressure at Moët Hennessy
The labour action comes as the beverage division of LVMH faces sustained financial strain. French magazine La Lettre published preliminary figures for Moët Hennessy’s 2025 operating results, showing a marked decline compared with 2024.
This mirrors what LVMH’s quarterly reports for 2025 have already shown, namely a fall in operating income at its wine and spirits business during the first half of the year. Official annual results from the group are due at the end of January.
Context of restructuring and job cuts
The dispute follows a period of restructuring within Moët Hennessy. As reported by the drinks business in May 2025, the division planned to cut around 1,200 jobs from a workforce of 9,400, returning staffing levels to those of 2019.
Chief executive Jean Jacques Guiony told staff at the time that revenues had fallen back to 2019 levels while operating costs had risen by 35 per cent. The job reductions were to be achieved mainly through natural attrition and redeployment, with a hiring freeze already in place.
the drinks business has reached out to LVMH for comment.
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