May 1 (Reuters) - LVMH group's wine and spirits business Moet Hennessy will

shrink its workforce by more than 10%, about 1,200 employees, the Financial Times reported on

Thursday, citing an internal video message from the division's CEO, Jean-Jacques Guiony.

Guiony and his deputy, Alexandre Arnault, son of LVMH owner Bernard Arnault, told staff at

Moet Hennessy this week that they planned to cut the workforce back to 2019 levels, the

newspaper said, adding that a timeline for the job cuts was not immediately known.

Organic sales at Moet Hennessy, LVMH's weakest division, dropped 9% in the first quarter,

hit by a slump in its key U.S. and Chinese markets. This dragged other sectors of the luxury

goods empire, which encompasses brands from Louis Vuitton to Moet & Chandon.

"While Moët-Hennessy's business has returned to its 2019 level, Moët-Hennessy announced

yesterday its intention to adjust its organisation and gradually return to its 2019 staffing

levels, primarily by managing its natural turnover and not filling vacant positions," LVMH said,

according to the FT report.

LVMH and Moet Hennessy did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Alexandre Arnault, who has links with U.S. President Donald Trump's family, was assigned the

job of helping turn around the group's wine and spirits business in November 2024, a task that

could be more difficult now, as 20% reciprocal tariffs imposed by Trump on all European Union

goods could have an impact on the company.

Last month, the French wine and spirits exporters group said that the sales of French wine

and spirits were expected to slide in the U.S. following Trump's tariff announcement.