The general works council of the Galeria department store chain has asked its own management to comment on the current situation. “It’s enough, the workforce is demanding clarity! We have a right to it,” says a leaflet available to the German Press Agency.
Several of Galeria’s landlords complain that rent payments for April have not been made. In some cases, the department store company is also said to have asked for a deferral of rent payments. Galeria did not want to comment on this when asked.
The letter from the general works council addressed to the employees states: “We can understand the uncertainty you are experiencing due to the current press. We also have no information on this topic.” The employee representation demands a statement from management to “truly present to us and all colleagues where our company stands. It cannot be the case that we have to obtain our information from the press.”
Galeria operates 83 department stores in Germany and employs around 12,000 people. The chain had to file for bankruptcy again at the beginning of 2024. The reasons were the financial difficulties of the then parent company Signa and high rental costs. Nine houses were closed in summer 2024. Since then, Galeria has belonged to the US investment company NRDC and an investment company owned by the entrepreneur Bernd Beetz.