Adidas Exits Trade Union: Labels Move 'Unsportsmanlike and Unsolidary'
Adidas has announced its decision to exit collective bargaining with the IGBCE union in Germany, marking a significant shift in the company's labour relations. The move, effective from September 1, 2025, aims to provide the company with greater flexibility in salary negotiations and workforce management, while rejecting union demands seen as restrictive.
The company will negotiate salaries independently from September 1, remaining a member of the employers' association but as a non-tariff-bound member. Key arguments for this exit include the need for flexibility, opposition to union demands, and a response to wage structure.
Flexibility and Competitiveness
Adidas argues that to maintain its competitive edge and retain top talent, it must offer salaries outside the collective bargaining structure, allowing individualized and development-based salary offers.
Union Demands Rejected
The union's proposals for expanding pay grades to cover more employees and introducing a general bonus for union members are seen by Adidas as undermining flexibility and are “not negotiable.”
Wage Structure and New Hires
The union demands a 7% wage increase and wider coverage, but Adidas plans to restrict collective agreement wages to current covered employees, excluding new hires from September onward.
Implications of Adidas' Move
The IGBCE has criticised Adidas' decision, viewing it as a rejection of "social partnership and fair play." This withdrawal may influence other companies' approaches to labour negotiations, potentially leading to labor tensions and implications for wage and working condition standards in the German footwear and sportswear industry.
Approximately 4,600 to 8,000 Adidas employees currently covered by collective bargaining may face changes in wage negotiations, while new hires will likely be excluded from collective agreements, possibly leading to wage disparities and reduced union protection.
Wider Market Pressures
The exit occurs in a challenging retail environment characterised by stagnant market growth, price pressure, and consumer restraint, which may have motivated Adidas to seek greater cost control and flexibility to adapt.
In summary, Adidas sees the exit as necessary to maintain competitiveness and salary flexibility in a stagnant market, while the union views it as a breakdown in traditional social dialogue, risking labor tensions and implications for wage and working condition standards.
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- Adidas intends to negotiate salaries independently for their employees, abandoning the collective bargaining structure, to offer individualized and development-based salary offers, which is essential for remaining competitive in the sports industry.
- While the IGBCE union criticizes Adidas' decision as a rejection of "social partnership and fair play," the company's move towards independent salary negotiations in sports may prompt other companies to alter their labor negotiations, potentially leading to labor tensions and wage disparities within the footwear and sportswear industry in Germany.
