According to management, negotiations over a social plan at the Zalando logistics center in Erfurt, which is about to be closed, have failed.
The works council broke off the talks on Saturday because it saw no further basis for negotiations, as the management and works council announced. This means that the procedure is now going – as agreed in advance – to the conciliation board under a neutral chairman.
The works council explained that the ideas were too far apart. The sum promised by the employer is not enough to compensate for the social disadvantages at this size of location. Zalando always justified its draft social plan with a limited budget for the Erfurt location.
Fronts hardened again
The employee representatives accused the company of spending money lavishly on luxury marketing and sports sponsorship. “For the Erfurt workforce, which has made the company big and rich on a minimum wage basis for over a decade, all that remains in the end is financial collapse and the threat of poverty in old age,” said a statement from the works council.
After the failed social plan negotiations, the Left parliamentary group also reacted with sharp criticism of Zalando. The group leader Christian Schaft explained that the proposals put forward by the group were unacceptable and an outrage. “Anyone like Zalando who had a billion to buy the About You platform, raised 300 million euros to buy back their own shares or concluded expensive sponsorship deals, but then said there was no money for the employees, is simply absolutely disrespectful.”
The social plan regulates financial compensation for employees such as severance pay or bonuses. According to a company spokesman, good results have already been achieved in the reconciliation of interests, which regulates the organizational aspects of the planned closure such as shift planning. Zalando in Erfurt currently has around 2,000 jobs.
Zalando is sticking to its closure date
After weeks of radio silence, management and the works council began discussions about balancing interests and a social plan at the end of May. This was preceded by a settlement which stipulated that negotiations would initially take place outside of a conciliation body. Since no agreement was reached by June 20th, the conciliation board will be set up next Tuesday under the chairmanship of a former labor judge. The date for the last meeting for the time being is said to be July 9th.
The DAX group wants to close the logistics center with which it grew up as an online fashion retailer in the fall. “Our goal remains to complete the process promptly and implement the planned closure date of September 30, 2026,” confirmed the company spokesman.
/go/DP/he
ERFURT (dpa-AFX)
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