On a small lawn in front of the headquarters of the wooden toy and children’s furniture manufacturer Haba in Bad Rodach near Coburg, a few older gentlemen with children sit on benches around the clock. But they aren’t real people. An artist created the figures and placed them there. The coziness is in stark contrast to the turbulence that has broken out in the company headquarters behind it, which looks futuristic compared to the upscale cityscape of Bad Rodach. Haba, one of the largest German toy manufacturers, is fighting for survival. And management wants to secure this with drastic cuts.
The plan essentially calls for cutting almost 700 of the 1,677 jobs in Germany and closing a production site in Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt. This is what it says in a restructuring concept from management and experts. On Wednesday they presented this concept to the workforce and the works council, and negotiations will begin immediately on staff cuts. There must be a solution by the end of November. Time is of the essence because Haba, a family business founded 85 years ago and focused on wooden toys, has been in self-administration in preliminary insolvency proceedings since September. And that gives those responsible three months to find a way out of the crisis on their own.
According to the restructuring concept, Haba not only wants to cut staff, but also focus what specialist retailers believe has been an outsized range in recent years on “high-quality toys and games to promote the development of children”, as the company says in a statement. Haba wants to expand its market leadership as an outfitter for daycare centers and all-day facilities, which it has achieved under the subsidiary brand Wehrfritz, which has now been renamed Haba pro.
The job cuts come as no surprise
The plan announced in August to close the Jako-o online shop at the end of the year is being adhered to. In order to save Haba, “fundamental and extremely painful cuts for everyone involved are necessary,” says Martin Mucha, the restructuring expert from the law firm Grubb Brugger, who was appointed as general representative. “The central elements of the successful restructuring include a clear positioning of the brands, sustainable cost structures and a sustainable positioning of the company internally and externally.”
The reduction of almost 700 jobs does not come as a surprise; there has been speculation about it for months. The company has been struggling for at least two years. According to unconfirmed information, it is heading for a deficit of 70 million euros this year, with sales falling drastically to 250 million euros.
Three days before Haba, the Zirndorf toy manufacturer Brandstätter, known for its plastic Playmobil toys, announced that it would cut 700 jobs, 369 of them in Germany and almost exclusively in Franconia. This means that more than 1,000 jobs will be lost in one fell swoop in the Franconian toy industry alone. Haba is also the largest employer in the Coburg district. As with Playmobil, insiders and industry experts believe that management errors are primarily responsible for the problems at Haba. The toy industry as a whole grew significantly during Corona; However, full warehouses are now plaguing many manufacturers. The upcoming Christmas business is therefore awaited with great excitement – the most important and highest-turnover time of the year in the industry.