by Federica Mileo and Diana Mandia

(Reuters) – Sodexo’s benefits and rewards services business, recently renamed Pluxee, plans to hire around 1,000 people in 2024 for its technology and data operations to tap into the growing market for employee benefits, said its general manager Aurélien Sonet on Monday.

Sodexo, which is benefiting from the rising cost of living as employers seek to support their staff without raising salaries, announced plans in April to spin off and IPO its benefits and rewards division for 2024, in betting on the good performance of the activity.

“We are talking about a potential market in terms of business spending of around 1,000 billion euros. So it is a massive market and still very little penetrated, because many small and medium-sized companies still do not offer no benefits to their employees,” the chief executive said in an interview with Reuters.

Pluxee will invest 10% of its revenue in technology each year until 2025, as the division intends to expand its offering by helping customers manage the hybrid work of their employees and create a satisfying balance between professional and private life.

Mobility solutions to support the use of bicycles, scooters or carpooling are also attracting customers, as more and more companies seek to reduce their carbon footprint linked to commuting, said Aurélien Sonet.

Its French competitor, Edenred, which joined the CAC 40 last Monday, posted first-quarter sales growth in April, as employers used its meal vouchers and fuel vouchers to help employees cope with the crisis. ‘inflation.

Pluxee, which employs 5,000 people in 31 countries, is targeting organic revenue growth of nearly 20% and an underlying operating margin of around 32% for the full year.

(Report Federica Mileo and Diana Mandiá in Gdansk, Nathan Vifflin, edited by Kate Entringer)

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