Adecco profile

Adecco is the world's largest employment services firm, generating annual revenue of about SFr25 billion ($21 billion).

The company, which employs 28,000 people in 68 countries, was formed in 1996 from the merger of French firm ECCO and Switzerland’s Adia.

Adecco, which specialises in providing temporary workers, says it has 250,000 clients and places 650,000 people in short-term work every day.

Staffing is the largest of the group’s four divisions and accounts for 90 per cent of group sales.

Adecco Staffing North America is the unit where “material weaknesses” have been found in internal controls.

It features in the top two in 11 of world’s 13 biggest markets for employment services, including the United States, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

Adecco also offers professional staffing services, career development services for job seekers, and online recruitment through its “jobpilot” unit.

Its main global rival is Manpower, while the firm’s major European competitors are Dutch companies Randstad and Vedior.

Adecco reported a net profit of SFr354 million in 2002.