As a global employer, we contribute to the sustainable growth of local economies and labor markets by developing high-quality, permanent and fairly-paid employment opportunities in our organization and supply chain. In the last few years, we accelerated our digital transformation with digital talent roles in e-commerce and marketing, employed both globally and locally. In addition, we continue to aspire to be the preferred employer of eyecare specialists by offering attractive, locally-relevant employee benefits.
FTE count by segment (year-end)
Company segment | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
G4 | 14,591 | 14,696 | 14,359 | 13,996 | 12,625 |
Other Europe | 10,279 | 10,372 | 9,317 | 9,120 | 7,942 |
Americas & Asia | 8,283 | 8,803 | 8,476 | 8,453 | 8,009 |
Other & Corporate | 389 | 272 | 248 | 233 | 189 |
Total | 33,542 | 34,143 | 32,400 | 31,802 | 28,765 |
Headcount by segment (year-end)
Company segment | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
G4 | 17,958 | 17,677 | 17,560 | 17,117 | 14,319 |
Other Europe | 12,533 | 12,826 | 11,180 | 10,382 | 9,550 |
Americas & Asia | 8,409 | 9,184 | 8,490 | 8,734 | 7,056 |
Other & Corporate | 412 | 294 | 227 | 285 | 188 |
Total | 39,312 | 39,981 | 37,457 | 36,518 | 31,113 |
Despite our desire to continue expanding our international presence, the average number of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) decreased by about 2% compared to 2019. Our FTEs accounted for 33,542 employees in 2020, which is about 85% of our workforce. In total, we employ more than 39,000 people, of which about 80% are in Europe (G4 and Other Europe segments).
In our G4 segment, we increased our headcount compared to 2019 in order to implement new safety protocols in our retail brands. In Other Europe, the reduction in headcount was due to natural staff attrition. In Americas & Asia, the reduction in headcount was due to our decision to exit China, closing operations towards the end of 2019.
Our reported employee base grew in the Other & Corporate segment compared to 2019 as a result of a headcount reallocation of our Porto RFH employees from the Other Europe segment in 2020. Of all our total headcount of employees, approximately 90% have permanent contracts, while approximately 10% have temporary contracts.
During 2020, we strove to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on our workforce. Our priority was to create safe working conditions for our employees and customers in stores. We also increased our local and global communications to ensure employees were well-informed and highly engaged.