To the employees of the ailing Department store group in hard times to come. The company “survive able to hold” must be cut thousands of jobs, says CEO Fanderl.
In the case of the ailing Department store chain Kaufhof are to be dismantled in the Wake of the merger with the rival Karstadt approximately 2600 full-time jobs. The Karstadt announced in Essen. Around 1,000 jobs will disappear in the governance and management structures, and a further 1600 in the stores. Renovation-related closures of the offices are scheduled tentatively. Several Newspapers had previously reported on corresponding schedules.
An exit from the area collective bargaining agreement, will also seek chief Executive, Fanderl said. This was “currently no alternative”. In his current condition, Galeria Kaufhof was “not viable,” said Fanderl. The top management of the group in favour of a to the plight of Kaufhof tailored collective solution, and also in-house collective agreement.
Two become one
Galeria Kaufhof since November, a joint venture with Karstadt. Fanderl referred in this connection to the bad Christmas sales, the “significantly below expectations”. Karstadt-owner Signa I need to make in November a financial injection in “significant millions”, in order to stabilize the chain, so Fanderl.
The new joint venture Karstadt and Galeria Kaufhof is one of 49,99 percent of the canadian trade group, HBC, and 50.01 percent of the Austrian Signa Holding of the Investor René Benko. The headquarters of the group, should be eating – the former corporate headquarters of Karstadt. Cologne, formerly the seat of the Department store, remains an “important site of the group,” said Fanderl.
djo/uh (afp, dpa)