Lidl

Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets.^[5]

Criticism[edit]

In 2008, Lidl was accused by journalists of spying on their workers, listening to private phone calls, and sometimes even following them home or to doctor's appointments.^[78] In one instance, an employee's file was supposedly annotated to note that most of her friends were "drug users".^[78] Lidl responded to these claims, stating that the surveillance was intended to prevent shoplifting, and to detect "abnormal behavior".^[78]


Lidl has also been accused by trade unions in Germany of shutting down stores when workers elect worker councils or opt to engage in collective bargaining with a trade union.^[79]


In October 2022, animal welfare NGOs across Europe accused Lidl of a ‘chicken scandal’. Investigation footage filmed on a Lidl supplier's farm in Germany showed sick and injured chickens unable to walk and lying in their own waste.^[80] In November 2022, another investigation was published showing similar conditions at Lidl supplier farms in Spain.^[81] Further investigations in Italy and Austria have also revealed severe chicken welfare issues. In the Austrian investigation footage, birds are seen attempting to eat the rotting carcasses of other dead chickens.^[82] The chickens in the footage are fast-growing breeds, which reach their kill weight in just 35 days and have higher levels of mortality, lameness and muscle disease than slower-growing breeds.^[83] NGOs have called on the supermarket to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a set of welfare standards which prohibits the use of fast-growing breeds and requires the provision of more space and enrichment for chickens. While Lidl France already committed to the BCC in 2020, Lidl have so far not made a commitment for the rest of their European operations.^[80]