2024-04-27 21:53:15
Department store chain in trouble
Good news for Galeria employees
April 27, 2024 – 1:09 p.mReading time: 3 min.
1,400 jobs are to be eliminated at Galeria. An expert sees good opportunities for employees on the labor market – but this only applies to some of them.
Now it’s official: Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is closing branches across Germany at the end of August, 16 of the 92 branches are affected. This also means jobs are being cut. Of the approximately 12,800 people the company employs, 11,400 should keep their jobs. But 1,400 will have to leave, almost a third of whom are employees at the company headquarters in Essen. The headquarters will also move to Düsseldorf – because the Essen branch is also on the cancellation list.
But if you look at the current situation on the labor market, only some of the employees affected by the reductions have to worry now – despite the difficult economic situation. “The affected retail employees are likely to find a new job quickly,” says labor market expert Annina Hering from the job platform Indeed, according to a statement from the company.
Demand in retail has increased
The data from Indeed shows that there are currently significantly fewer people being hired in almost all industries than in the previous year, says Hering. However, this does not apply to retail and the medical profession – demand has actually increased here. “In the best case, the termination even leads to a new employment contract with improved conditions.”
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However, the employees at corporate headquarters are likely to have difficulties, says Hering. According to current plans, around 450 jobs will be cut there. “The demand for employees in human resources has fallen particularly sharply, by almost a third,” said Hering. “This is another indicator that many companies are currently planning fewer new hires.”
However, she pointed out that more people are currently being hired than before the start of the corona pandemic. And she said that this should of course only be a small consolation for the affected employees at the moment. “After all, waves of layoffs (…) are a difficult process.”
Verdi: Employees are pawns in a rental poker game
The Verdi service union also sharply criticized the renewed closure plans with regard to employees. “What the employees have to endure goes far beyond what is bearable,” said Verdi federal board member Silke Zimmer, who is responsible for retail. Once again, the impression arises that the employees are becoming pawns in a rental poker game. The often overpriced rents have to be negotiated with landlords.
“Thousands of employees have forgone significant salary components in recent years in order to save the company. They deserve to finally have security for their jobs,” said the trade unionist. The new owner would have to invest in the company. A viable future concept must be developed together with the employees. “Anyone who continually focuses on reducing costs through staff cuts and branch closures reduces the attractiveness of department stores for customers and thus also the attractiveness of city centers,” said Zimmer.
The department store group filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of January. It is the third bankruptcy within three and a half years. In April it was announced that a consortium made up of the US investment company NRDC under Richard Baker (read more about him here) and entrepreneur Bernd Beetz’s company BB Kapital SA (read more about him here) wanted to take over the department store chain. However, the agreement concluded between investors and Galeria will only come into effect if the creditors agree at the end of May.