The Adecco Group

The Adecco Group is a Swiss–French[2] company based in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the world's second largest Human Resources provider and temporary staffing firm,[3] and a Fortune Global 500 company.[4]

The Adecco Group global headquarters in Zurich is located in Bellerivestrasse since 2017
The Adecco Group global headquarters in Zurich is located in Bellerivestrasse since 2017.

The Adecco Group AG
TypeAktiengesellschaft
SMI MID component
IndustryProfessional services
PredecessorsEcco
Adia Interim
Founded1 January 1997 (1 January 1997)
HeadquartersZurich, Switzerland
Number of locations
5,200 branches in over 60 countries and territories
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jean-Christophe Deslarzes (Chairman)
Denis Machuel (CEO)
ServicesEmployment agencies, recruitment, human resource consulting and outsourcing
RevenueIncrease €20.949 billion (2021)[1]
Increase €780 million (2021)[1]
Increase €586 million (2021)[1]
Total assetsIncrease €11.865 billion (2021)[1]
Total equityIncrease €3.800 billion (2021)[1]
Number of employees
32,000 (FTE 2021)[1]
115,000 (2021)[1]
Websiteadeccogroup.com

In 2021, Adecco claimed to have placed 113,000 people in permanent employment and daily placed 300,000 people in precariat jobs. With the expansion of its operations to China, its number totals up to 3.5 million.[5]

The company was formed officially on 1 January 1997 as a result of the merger of the French company Ecco and the Swiss company Adia Interim,[6] and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN, ISIN CH0012138605). Adia was established in 1957 in Lausanne (Switzerland) by Henri Lavanchy. Ecco was founded in Lyon (France) at the initiative of Philippe Foriel Destezet. In 2000, The Adecco Group acquired Olsten Staffing, in the US, becoming the number one recruitment company in that country. In 2010, it acquired MPS Group and thus became the number one company worldwide.[7]

The Adecco Group is the parent company of three Global Business units: Adecco, Akkodis,[8] and LHH, and brands such as Pontoon, General Assembly, HIRED, EZRA and Adia.[9]

Services

The Adecco Group provides services covering temporary staffing, permanent placement, career transition and talent development as well as business process outsourcing and consulting.

As for staffing, The Adecco Group covers sectors including office, industrial, technical, financial and legal, amongst others.

History
  • 1957: Adia is founded by Henri Lavanchy in Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 1964: Ecco is founded by Philippe Foriel-Destezet in Lyon, France
  • 1996: Personnel services firms Ecco and Adia Interim merged to form a global company with annualised revenues of €5.4 billion.[10] Operations were combined to form a network of 2,500 branches and 250,000 staff.
  • 1997: Adecco S.A. acquired TAD Resources International, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based temporary-staffing company, for $387.5 million.[11][12]
  • 2000: The Adecco Group acquired Olsten Staffing. The merged company generated combined revenues of €11.6 billion.
  • 2002: The Adecco Group consolidated its businesses and created divisions to manage its business.
  • 2005: The Adecco Group expanded across six professional business lines.
  • 2006: Following the acquisition of DIS AG, Germany, Dieter Scheiff assumed the position of chief executive officer of The Adecco Group. Dominik de Daniel became chief financial officer.[13]
  • 2007: The annual shareholders' meeting approved the nomination of Jürgen Dormann, former vice chairman, as chairman of the board. Rolf Dörig became vice-chairman. Klaus J. Jacobs, the co-founder of Adecco, handed back his mandate, having reached the statutory retirement age.
  • 2008: On 11 September, Klaus J. Jacobs, founder and honorary president of The Adecco Group, died.[14] Jürgen Dormann stepped down at year-end, as chairman of the board of directors.
  • 2009: Rolf Dörig started as chairman of the board of directors of The Adecco Group. On 1 June, Patrick De Maeseneire took over as chief executive officer of The Adecco Group from Dieter Scheiff. The Adecco Group acquires Spring Group in the UK,[15] and tabled an offer for MPS Group.
  • 2010: The acquisition of MPS Group officially closed.[16] The Adecco Group set up a joint venture in Shanghai with Chinese HR services company Fesco.[17]
  • 2011: FESCO Adecco began operations on 1 January. The Adecco Group announced the acquisition of US-based Drake Beam Morin, Inc.[18]
  • 2012: The Adecco Group acquired VSN Inc., a provider of professional staffing services in Japan.[19] Henri-Ferdinand Lavanchy, the founder of Adia, died.[20]
  • 2014: The Adecco Group acquired OnForce to expand its Beeline service offering, creating a unique integrated solution for managing contingent workforces.[21] The Jacobs Group sold the majority of its 18% stake in the Adecco Group.[22]
  • 2015: On 11 March, The Adecco Group acquired Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions, a Canadian company offering career transition, talent and leadership development and recruitment services.[23] On 1 September, Alain Dehaze took over as chief executive officer of The Adecco Group from Patrick De Maeseneire.[24]
  • 2016: On 10 May, The Adecco Group closed the acquisition of Penna Consulting Plc, a UK company providing career transition and talent development services, as well as recruitment services.[25]
  • 2017: The Adecco Group global headquarters in Zürich moved from Glattbrugg to the city, in Bellerivestrasse.
  • 2018: The Adecco Group acquired General Assembly[26] and Vettery[27]
  • 2019: The Adecco Group announced the divestment of Soliant Health in the US. The healthcare staffing business was sold to Olympus Partners for a cash consideration of US$612 million (EUR 551 million).[28]
  • 2020: In April 2020, Jean-Christophe Deslarzes is appointed chair of the board of directors. In May 2020, The Adecco Group formed an alliance with Randstad BV and ManpowerGroup, launching new guidance for a safe return to work after the COVID-19 outbreak.[29][30][31]
  • 2022: In May 2022, Adecco announced that Denis Machuel will replace Alain Dehaze and he took charge on July 1, 2022.[32]'[33]

Global brands

The Adecco Group operates in the market through various brands, including[34]

Scandals

In 2004, Adecco delayed publication of its results because of accounting problems.

With investors already nervous following the collapse of Italian dairy group Parmalat, shares in Adecco – which places 650,000 people on assignment each day for clients such as IBM – were down 44.2% at 45.50 Swiss francs (£20.13). The loss wiped out the previous year's 47% share price gain, which came amid expectations that global economic recovery would boost the firm's temp business. The run on Adecco's shares followed a short statement from the company about the delay in its earnings release, which had originally been scheduled for February 4. Adecco said that the delay stemmed from several reasons including "the identification of material weaknesses in internal controls in the company's North American operations of Adecco Staffing". Adecco did not disclose details of irregularities it had found in an internal review. Investors were left uncertain, but were concerned that the company could be the latest casualty in a wave of accounting scandals.[35]

Problems had also engulfed Enron, Ahold and Parmalat, where billion-dollar frauds led to criminal investigations. There was speculation that Adecco's problems could be connected to its acquisition of US jobs firm Olsten for $1.6bn (£865m) in March 2000.

Litigation

Adecco UK Ltd v. Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd

On 10 December 2008, Adecco UK Ltd applied to the Company Names Tribunal under s.69(1)(b) Companies Act 2006 for a change of name of Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd, which had been registered at Companies House since 14 October 2008.

The application went undefended by the respondent and the adjudicator ordered on 3 March 2009, that Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd must change their name within one month. Additionally the respondent was ordered not to cause or permit any steps to be taken to register another company with an offending name which could interfere, due to its similarity, with the goodwill of the applicant.

Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd was also ordered to pay a contribution towards Adecco UK Ltd's costs.[36]

See also

References
  1. "Annual Report 2021" (PDF). Ar.adeccogroup.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  2. "Upcoming Adia, Ecco merger to create a personnel giant - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  3. "RANDSTAD AND ADECCO RANK FIRST AND SECOND ON SIA'S 2019 LARGEST GLOBAL STAFFING FIRMS LIST". staffingindustry.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  4. "The world's 500 largest companies. 2019 Report". Fortune.com.
  5. "The Adecco Group Annual Report, 2018" (PDF).
  6. "Upcoming Adia, Ecco merger to create a personnel giant - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  7. "World's Largest Temp Firm Adecco to Buy Olsten and Take Lead in U.S." Los Angeles Times.
  8. "Akkodis.com". Akkodis.com. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  9. "Adecco Group Website - Our Solutions". The Adecco Group. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. "Upcoming Adia, Ecco merger to create a personnel giant". Bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  11. Dow Jones (18 September 1997). "INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS; Adecco to Acquire Massachusetts Company". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  12. Dow Jones Newswires (17 September 1997). "Switzerland's Adecco to Buy Staffing Firm for $387.5 Million". wsj.com. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  13. "Adecco appoints Dominik de Daniel as group chief financial officer - Onrec". Onrec.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  14. Beckett, Edward (13 September 2008). "Chocolate King Jacobs Dies". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  15. "Adecco's acquisition of Spring creates one of the largest recruitment companies in the UK". Hrmagazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  16. "Jacksonville's MPS Group agrees to buyout by Swiss firm | Jacksonville.com". Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  17. "Adecco, FESCO establish new HR venture". China Daily. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  18. "Adecco Announces Plan to Acquire Drake Beam Morin – Workforce Magazine". Workforce.com. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  19. "Deals - Corporate LiveWire - Corporate LiveWire". Corporatelivewire.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  20. "Le Vaudois Henri-Ferdinand Lavanchy est décédé". Rts.ch. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  21. "OnForce acquired by European Adecco Group, will join with Beeline". Betaboston.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  22. "Adecco's largest shareholder sells down stake". Financial Times. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  23. "Adecco acquires Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions". 2.staffingindustry.com. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  24. "Adecco Board appoints Alain Dehaze as CEO - Recruitment International". Recruitment-international.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  25. "Adecco says Brexit uncertainty hitting UK finance jobs". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  26. "General Assembly joins the Adecco Group". General Assembly school press. 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  27. "Vettery acquisition press release". The Adecco Group Press Office. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  28. Sexton, Lauren (5 November 2019). "The Adecco Group announces divestment of Soliant Health in US". www.recruitment-international.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  29. "WORLD – THE ADECCO GROUP, RANDSTAD NV AND MANPOWERGROUP LAUNCH GUIDANCE FOR A SAFE RETURN TO WORK". Staffing Industry Analyst.
  30. "Safely Back to work - open letter 3 CEOs".
  31. "A safe return to the physical workplace - The Adecco Group".
  32. "Adecco recruits former Sodexo boss Machuel as new CEO".
  33. "UPDATE 3-Adecco recruits former Sodexo boss Machuel as new CEO". Reuters. 5 May 2022.
  34. "The Adecco Group – find out more about the industry leader in Human Resources solutions at a glance". Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  35. "Accounting fears send Adecco shares plummeting". The Guardian. 12 January 2004. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  36. Adecco UK Ltd v. Adecco UK Recruitment Ltd Archived 3 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 8 October 2014
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