Non-food online commerce has destroyed 85,000 jobs in ten years: “the biggest social plan in progress in France”


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The development of non-food online commerce destroyed 85,000 jobs between 2009 and 2019, accuses Friends of the Earth. A report deemed “partial” by the French federation of online commerce (Fevad).

It’s about “largest social plan in progress in France”. The development of non-food online commerce has destroyed nearly 85,000 jobs between 2009 and 2019, accuses Friends of the Earth in a report made public this week. According to the association for the protection of man and the environment, 122,400 jobs have been directly destroyed in ten years in the retail trade – whose clientele is rather made up of individuals – because of the development of online sales. . The wholesale trade, – whose clientele is, on the contrary, professional – has limited damage.

To face the concurrence

Very small retail businesses (7,600 jobs lost) and the clothing sector (4,800) are paying a heavy price for the affirmation of distance selling. “For every job created in an online sales company with 50 or more employees, nearly two were destroyed in the smallest companies in 2019”deplores the NGO. “Until then, the digitization of the major physical retail chains generated job creations, because the new online activity was added to the existing in-store activity. Now that their online business is developed, these brands are closing their stores and laying off their employees to face competition from the big players in online sales.analyzes Etienne Coubard, spokesperson for Friends of the Earth.

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The authors of the study are also worried on the one hand about a strong Covid effect when the data for the years 2020 and 2021 will be available, and on the other hand about a spread of social damage to the food trade, with the rise of “dark stores”, a retail business based on the delivery of everyday consumer products ordered from a web application, and other online grocery stores.

“Precarious jobs” and “concreting of fields”

“Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term has resulted in incomprehensible choices. Tax giveaways, administrative and political support have enabled massive and rapid implementation. Yet e-commerce is destroying jobs at high speed”judge Etienne Coubard again.

“The government favors uberisation, short contracts and temporary work. In the midst of a purchasing power crisis, in addition to destroying jobs, online sales create precarious jobs below the poverty line., conclude Friends of the Earth. The NGO criticizes in passing the proliferation of logistics sites: “e-commerce will continue to concrete fields to build warehouses larger than the largest shopping centers in France”.

The French federation of online commerce (Fevad) reacted by considering that it was a report “biased” realized by “an NGO opposed to e-commerce”. The federation pleads in particular that “a direct job in e-commerce requires an additional 1.2 indirect jobs for logistics and delivery management”, while the equivalent in physical commerce “comes with 0.2 indirect jobs in logistics”. “E-commerce is a fundamental movement that affects consumption in all countries”still pleads the Fevad. “It is in this sector that the jobs of tomorrow will be created”.



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