Home » Business » Karstadt Kaufhof: Karstadt Sport and travel agency before the end

Karstadt Kaufhof: Karstadt Sport and travel agency before the end


photo-caption">

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof in crisis.

Shutterstock

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof wants to close up to 80 of the 175 branches in Germany, the “Wirtschaftswoche” reported.

This could close almost half of all Karstadt and Kaufhof branches and thousands of employees lose their jobs.

In addition, according to a report by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”, two brands in the department store chain are on the brink of extinction.

Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof could close almost half of the 175 branches. The “Wirtschaftswoche” reports on Friday. This emerges from a reorganization concept that was presented to the company’s general works council today, the magazine writes. According to this, the employee representatives assume that up to 80 locations in Germany could be closed. Insiders estimate that this means a cut of up to 5,000 jobs, writes the business magazine.

Two brands in the department store chain were particularly hard hit: According to a report by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”, 20 of the 30 branches of Karstadt-Sport are on the brink of extinction. According to insiders, the newly founded subsidiary Atrys, which runs the travel agencies of Galeria, is hit even harder. 100 of the 130 travel agencies are to be closed. In addition, a three-digit number of jobs is to be cut in the Galeria headquarters in Essen alone, with 1,600 people currently working there. The Karstadt-Sport headquarters with 60 employees, also in Essen, is to be deleted without replacement.

Verdi union sharply criticizes plans

The Verdi union criticized the plans sharply in a message: “This is brutal! It seems that the company management and the owner are misusing the corona crisis in order to still implement their original plans for site closures and layoffs, ”throws Stefanie Nutzberger, the trade executive board member of the United Services Union (Ver.di) , the retail group.
Even before Christmas, the group had guaranteed the future for the department store and thus also a location and job security in the collective agreement. “A few weeks later, the turnaround and a clear cut come at the expense of the workers. Implementing this planning would have a devastating impact on the approximately 35,000 employees at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof and in the group, ”said Benefitberger. Employees at Karstadt Feinkost, Karstadt Sports, the catering trade with Dinea and Le Buffet and the logistics area are also affected.

In a press release by the General Works Council of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, it said: “The cruelty measures in the draft of the restructuring plan are hard to beat and a general attack on all employees.”

At the end of April, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof said that locations are currently being analyzed for their economic efficiency and the respective landlords are being contacted. The group wanted to reduce the rents of its branches. Therefore, the accommodation of the individual landlords should play a role, which branches are closed.

Frank Kebekus, the court-appointed administrator and the general representative Arndt Geiwitz had already indicated that the “restoration ahead of us must be far more determined” than “we would like it to be”. The management also wrote that “unfortunately there must also be site closures and, accordingly, job cuts”, wrote “Manager Magazin”.

You can buy a mouthguard from these retailers

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.