The Verdi union has called on the new insolvency administrator at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof to secure the department store chain’s jobs.
“We as a union will fight with the employees for their future,” said Silke Zimmer, who is responsible for trade on the Verdi federal executive board, on Tuesday, according to a statement. “We demand that the new insolvency administrator do everything in their power to ensure that the good economic development the company has taken in the last few months can be continued and the remaining around 12,000 jobs will be retained.”
Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof had previously filed for bankruptcy again. The department store chain is now looking for a new owner. Discussions with potential investors have already begun; the aim is to continue Galeria, it was said. This is the third bankruptcy for Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof in less than four years. This was preceded by the difficulties of the parent company Signa. According to its own information, the department store chain has more than 15,000 employees, 12,500 of which are permanent employees, plus seasonal workers.
For the employees, the renewed bankruptcy was “absolutely bitter,” said Verdi’s Zimmer. The union basically sees a good future for Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof with a stationary-digital department store concept. “Department stores are the heart of many city centers. They offer customers goods and good advice in a breadth and depth that they cannot get anywhere else,” said Zimmer. The union is now hoping for an investor “who has trading expertise and will enable Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof to remain intact as a whole and thus secure jobs.”(dpa)