LVMH Champagne Workers Secure Historic Bonus Agreement
After months of union action, LVMH's champagne division reaches deal guaranteeing a minimum €3,300 participation bonus per employee.
A prolonged standoff between the champagne division workforce of LVMH and the management of the world’s largest luxury conglomerate has ended with an agreement that safeguards a profit-sharing bonus dating back nearly six decades. The deal, announced by the CGT union, confirms a minimum payment of €3,300 per employee for the 2025 financial year, drawing a line under months of industrial action that had threatened to escalate further.
A Bonus Rooted in Tradition
The participation bonus at stake is no recent concession. According to the CGT inter-union committee of the Champagne region, the arrangement has been in place since 1967, making it one of the longest-standing profit-sharing agreements in the French luxury sector. For the workers of houses such as Moët & Chandon and Ruinart, the bonus has long been regarded not as a discretionary perk but as an integral part of their compensation, reflecting the collective contribution of cellar workers, vineyard teams, and production staff to brands that command global prestige.
When reports emerged in late 2024 that LVMH management intended to suppress the bonus entirely, the response was swift. A strike and public demonstration were organised in December outside the historic Moët & Chandon headquarters in Épernay, the unofficial capital of Champagne. A further rally had been scheduled for Paris, but was called off once the agreement was reached, according to CGT delegate Alexandre Rigaud.
The resolution averts what could have become a damaging spectacle for a group that trades heavily on heritage and craftsmanship. In the Champagne appellation, where the human element remains central to quality, labour disputes carry a particular weight. The knowledge held by experienced cellar masters, riddlers, and vineyard workers is not easily replaced, and their sense of institutional belonging matters to the consistency of the final product.
Difficult Horizons for Wines and Spirits
The bonus dispute unfolded against a backdrop of significant financial pressure on LVMH’s wines and spirits division. In 2025, revenues for the segment fell by nine percent to €20.36 billion, a decline driven by adverse currency movements, the impact of tariff policies in key export markets, and the near-impossibility of raising prices on products already positioned at the upper end of the market.
The division encompasses some of the most illustrious names in French winemaking and distillation. Its champagne portfolio alone includes Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, Mercier, and Ruinart, while the spirits side is anchored by Hennessy, the world’s leading cognac house. Each of these brands operates in a segment where demand has softened, particularly in the Chinese and American markets that had fuelled growth in previous years.
The broader LVMH group recorded a five percent decline in total revenue for 2025, finishing the year at €80.8 billion. Senior leadership characterised the period as turbulent on both the economic and geopolitical fronts, and offered little reassurance about the near-term outlook, indicating that 2026 would not be a straightforward year either.
What the Agreement Signals for the Sector
For observers of the Champagne market, the resolution carries implications beyond a single corporate negotiation. The willingness of LVMH to restore the bonus, even in a year of declining revenues, suggests that the group recognises the strategic value of workforce stability in its most tradition-dependent division. Champagne production relies on skills and institutional memory that take years to develop, and the reputational cost of visible labour unrest in the heart of the appellation would likely have outweighed the savings from eliminating the bonus.
At the same time, the episode is a reminder that even the most prestigious houses in Champagne are not insulated from the economic pressures reshaping the global luxury landscape. Currency volatility, trade barriers, and cautious consumer spending are forcing difficult conversations throughout the industry. The question for LVMH, and for the sector more broadly, is whether the current headwinds represent a cyclical dip or the early contours of a structural adjustment.
For the men and women who tend the vines, manage the cellars, and uphold the standards of these storied maisons, the immediate outcome is clear: a hard-won guarantee that their contribution will continue to be recognised in tangible terms. In an industry built on patience, precision, and long-term thinking, that may prove to be the most prudent investment of all.