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The man who came in from the cold: Otto boss
Alexander Birken
takes drastic energy -saving measures
Photo: Christian Charisius/ dpa
The energy crisis prompted Otto boss
Alexander Birken
(58) to take extreme energy-saving measures - with consequences for the employees.
The Hamburg retail group announced on Thursday that it would lower the temperatures in its offices and workrooms to 15 degrees, sometimes even down to six degrees.
The Otto Group is therefore sending its employees to the home office.
In addition, Birken plans to close some of the office buildings in the winter, reports Business Insider.
First, the "world" had reported about it.
The group is shutting down its central company thermal power station.
Due to the drop in temperature in the offices, no more activities are allowed to take place there "for reasons of occupational safety," the company said.
Heated places for emergencies
The temperatures in the offices at the Hamburg headquarters are also to be reduced during the winter holidays.
Employees should work remotely if possible.
However, there are still some heated places available for emergencies, as the group reports.
No coffee and hot water
Otto closes three-quarters of the central office building at the subsidiary Hermes.
Employees of the shipping service provider should move to the most energy-efficient building and share desks there.
The textile subsidiary Witt goes one step further.
The group wants to reduce the lighting there, switch off refrigerators and coffee machines and turn off the hot water in the offices.
With the drastic energy saving measures, Otto emphasizes the advantages of the new working environment.
The fact that offices are being closed and employees now have to move together could also result in new creativity, emphasized HR
manager Petra Scharner-Wolff
(51) in the statement.
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