Dr. André Zimmermann, LL.M.

Partner

Düsseldorf

Munich

OLNS#3 – Employment Law for Tech Companies (relaunched edition)

OLNS#3 has all the Employment Law must-haves for young technology companies in Germany and key issues for startups to watch out for in the U.S., too!

André Zimmermann, a Certified Specialist for Employment Law (Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht) heads Orrick’s employment law practice in Germany. André has been advising on complex employment law issues for more than 15 years, with a focus on the employment law aspects of M&A transactions, restructurings and headcount reductions, and a special sector focus on technology companies.

André advises companies of all stages, pre-IPO startups, scaleups, unicorns and international corporations on a wide range of matters, having handled everything from day-to-day practical advice tailored to his clients’ needs, to complex multi-jurisdictional transactions from strategic planning through post-merger integration. Having long-standing experience in negotiating with works councils and unions in restructuring measures of all kind, a special focus of André's practice is on restructurings and headcount reductions.

He has advised on the employment law aspects in over 300 M&A transactions and financing rounds across various industries. Transactional advice includes employment law advice in complex, international technology transactions, M&A projects as well as private equity and venture capital investments, from due diligence to post-closing integration.

André has thorough knowledge of and a genuine passion for the tech industry. Over the last years, André has become the go-to-advisor of several Bay Area tech-companies, leaders in their market and high-growth tech companies. Most recently, he has advised leading global technology companies such as GoPro, Pinterest, GitHub, Nvidia, Sabre, Snap and Splunk on various employment matters.

André has received several awards for his work, inter alia:

Germany's leading lawyer ranking JUVE recognizes André as "frequently recommended" employment law expert since 2017;
Best Lawyers and Handelsblatt have listed André as one of Germany's best lawyers in employment law since 2020;
Germany's leading business weekly WirtschaftsWoche ranked André as one of the top employment lawyers in Germany in 2019;
IEL Elite, an in-house guide to the world’s leading employment and labour teams, recognized André as a "Key Lawyer" in 2022.

Clients recommend André to JUVE as “straight shooter" and "always refreshingly honest". Our clients praise his "creative and efficient style of working" and "a very practical and efficient style of providing advice", referring to him as "extremely responsive and always accessible" and as "an excellent advocate in court hearings". Clients appreciate André's "clear, sound and pragmatic real-world advice" and his "in-depth knowledge of the tech employment world".

Engagements
Day-to-Day Advice
- California-based leading global e-mobility provider
- NASDAQ-listed leading US travel technology company
- US software company
- NYSE-listed social media service
- NASDAQ-listed gaming accessory manufacturer
- NYSE-listed global leading IT service provider
- Leading multinational e-vehicle manufacturer
- German SaaS scale-up
- Health tech scale-up
- HR tech unicorn
- Various startups and early stage technology companies, often with US background
Restructuring/Headcount Reduction
- Social network - Advice on headcount reduction and mass dismissal procedure
- NYSE-listed social media company - Advice on headcount reduction in German entities
- Leading listed international hygiene products group - Advice on complex restructurings involving a total headcount reduction of 450 FTEs including negotiations with works council and union and implementation of headcount reductions
- NASDAQ-listed leading US travel technology company - Advice on restructurings including negotiations with works council and implementation of headcount reductions
- UK travel company - Advice on restructurings and headcount reductions
- NASDAQ-listed California-based technology company - Advice on restructurings and headcount reductions
Transactional/M&A
- Energy Impact Partners on its up to EUR 160m Series C lead investment in Berlin-based unicorn Grover, an online platform to lease short- and mid-term electronics in the consumer space
- NYSE-listed social media company on acquisition of Berlin-based tech startup
- US software company on acquisition of Germany-based health tech scale-up
- Fonds Finanz on majority investment by financial investor Hg
- IRONMAN Group on acquisition of Haute Route and Gravel Epic
- Skillz on USD 50m investment in and partnership with Exit Games
- Deel on acquisition of Zeitgold
- Lilium on USD 3.3b SPAC Merger with Qell
- STEAG on sale of STEAG Power Minerals to EP Power Europe
- Workday on USD 700m cross-border acquisition of Peakon
- Coatue as lead investor in the USD 44m Series A financing and the USD 290m Series B financing of Gorillas Technologies
- auxmoney on its EUR 150m Series F financing led by Centerbridge (biggest fintech financing 2020 in Germany)
- Jomoo group on acquisition of Poggenpohl Möbelwerke GmbH
- Estun group on acquisition of robotics specialist Cloos
- Kinnevik, Temasek and Atomico on USD 150m Series B financing of German unicorn Omio (formerly GoEuro).
- KUKA home on acquisition of luxury furniture producer Rolf Benz
- EQT on sale of Backwerk Group
Other Notable Recent Projects
- One of the Top 10 Unicorns - Advice on market entry in Germany
- Tech company - Advice on conversion into a Societas Europaea (SE)
- NASDAQ-listed US media company - Advice on market entry in Germany
- Berlin-based tech company - Advice on internal investigations
- Leading technology startup - Contractor compliance/misclassification risk assessment
- German software startup - Advice on first-time works council elections
- Leading German non-food retailer (20,000+ employees) - Advice on challenging first-time works council election and action against strikes