Pressemeldungen - Unternehmensverantwortung & Lieferkettengesetz
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Critical questions for Hugo Boss: Strategic realignment must not take place on the backs of workers
Joint press release by FEMNET, the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Critical Shareholders' Association
Bonn, Cologne, Berlin, 20 May 2026
In the face of weaker consumer spending and economic uncertainties, Hugo Boss has adapted its strategy. CEO Daniel Grieder emphasizes the focus on brand strengthening in 2026. On the other hand, workers in the supply chain are not strengthened. Hugo Boss leaves the important building protection agreement in Pakistan, trade unionists are dismissed at his own factory in Turkey. FEMNET, the umbrella association of critical shareholders and the campaign for clean clothing expect concrete answers at tomorrow's shareholders' meeting.
While more than 130 brands are extending their commitment to the Pakistan Accord, Hugo Boss has left the agreement. The Accord, with its independent safety inspections, is the industry's most successful mechanism for improving factory safety. In several of Hugo Boss' Pakistani suppliers, serious and potentially life-threatening safety deficiencies, such as lockable gates and blocked escape routes, have been identified in recent years. Although Hugo Boss continues to support the country program in Bangladesh, the brand no longer wants to protect several tens of thousands of workers in Pakistan's suppliers through the agreement. The withdrawal from the binding and transparent security mechanism represents a serious step backwards for the safety of Pakistani workers.
In the Hugo Boss factory in Izmir, Turkey, Hugo Boss is also criticized for labour rights violations. Over the last decade, around 1000 workers have been laid off without compensation, often on the pretext of ‘performance or disciplinary problems’. The high success rate in re-employment lawsuits clearly shows that these redundancies lack the legal basis. In order to reduce wages, older workers are systematically laid off and replaced by new, lower-paid workers. Among the dismissed are about 300 union members. The dismissal of leading trade union members suggests the targeted suppression of trade union activities.
FEMNET CEO Dr. Gisela Burckhardt says: ‘Hugo Boss’ sustainability strategy focuses on environmental aspects and neglects social aspects in the supply chain. As a civil society, we demand living wages, gender equality, freedom of organisation and the implementation of the Supply Chain Act. Under no circumstances should a strategic realignment be implemented to the detriment of the workers", says Burckhardt.
background
FEMNET is a non-profit women's rights organization working for better working conditions in the apparel industry of the Global South and is a member of the Clean Clothes Campaign. www.femnet.de
The the umbrella organisation of the Critical shareholders is a shareholders' association that is committed to more responsibility and transparency of companies with regard to environmental protection, labour and human rights, arms production and the renunciation of profit maximization at the expense of third parties. https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC Germany) is a network promoting the rights of workers in the supply chains of the international fashion industry. https://saubere-kleidung.de
Contact:
Aika-Maresa Fischbeck
Board of Directors FEMNET
Telephone 0228-90917309
Download
Press release of 20.05.2026 (PDF file)