In the collective bargaining for the approximately 17,400 remaining employees of the insolvent department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, difficult further talks are emerging. The demands of the Verdi union were taken note of, the company informed its employees on Friday after the first round of negotiations. According to the first assessment, they cannot be reconciled with the submitted insolvency plan. Conversions and heavy investments are pending, so that Galeria will not be profitable for three years at the earliest.
Verdi negotiator Marcel Schäuble criticized the management’s approach: “During the negotiations, the Federal Tariff Commission experienced a management that has no other answers for the future of the department stores than saving on the employees.” Another austerity program on the backs of the employees cannot be made. “Because wage cuts have never saved jobs.” The employees had already waived their salary after the first bankruptcy in 2020. Severance payments of up to 7,500 euros and the start of a transfer company that is intended to prepare employees for a new career are now planned. A creditors’ meeting is planned for March 27 in Essen, which will decide on the overall plan.