The board of Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) sets out a job cuts plan of France’s horseracing network and pools system. As stands three out of four trade unions sign agreement but, yet the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) points to ‘commercial contradictions’.
Three of the four trade unions PMU was negotiating with over plans to reform its commercial and field sales teams have signed a collective agreement with the group that will lead to 47 employees losing their jobs.
The group’s Employment Protection Plan (PSE) was launched in April by the new CEO Cyrille Giraudat as part of a plan to “restructure PMU’s sales department”. In total, the group plans to cut 128 roles and create 81 new ones, leading to a projected 47 job losses.
For PMU, the project shows that it is serious in wanting to be adaptable and address a worrying conditions that has seen group stakes drop 2% to €6.6bn in 2024, while returns to racing stakeholders dropped from €835m in 2024 to €802m in 2025.
Whilst PMU remains Europe’s biggest racing network, the heritage firm has yet to address an ageing client base which has not been renewed as former leadership directives have failed to entice and create interest in horse racing among younger audiences.
The signing happened on Tuesday this week, and, according to the newspaper Libération, the Syndicat Hippique National, Autonome and Force Ouvrière all signed; CFDT was the only trade union that refused to ratify the text. SHN said the “signing confirms the strength of the social dialogue that has been taking place over the past several weeks and demonstrates a shared commitment”.
The job cuts will affect around 350 staff and focus on PMU’s regional sales and outreach divisions. Importantly, no jobs are set to be impacted at the group’s head office in Paris, which has been pointed out by CFDT in its criticism of the proposals.
For CFDT, the teams on the ground have a focus and responsibility on maintaining the 14,000-strong network of bar tabac PMU retail partners that activate PMU’s products, thus creating the vital interest in horse racing from younger players that the group needs to ensure its long term future.
In January, Cyrille Giraudat took leadership of the PMU succeeding the tenure of Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet as CEO. A figurehead in French marketing who served as CMO of EuropaCar and Nextify , Giraudat takes charge of of Pacte PMU 2030, the firm’s agreed transformation and restructuring strategy.
Strategic priorities include a revamp of PMU’s core horse racing product, a project which remains unfinished following the resignation of Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet.
To address those issues it launched its new app PMU Play this year with Kambi as its online sports betting provider and is in ongoing negotiations with Playtech over a potential PAM agreement. The new app will focus on cross-selling racing customers into OSB and poker and emphasises ease of use with a single login giving them access to the three product groups.
The text will be presented to the group’s Social and Economic Committee on 23 September and must be approved by France’s labour authorities.