It is shocking news for Munich: the Kaufhof at the main train station is to be deleted without replacement.
The department store chain announced this on Monday.
Munich - This news shakes the retail trade: 5000 employees of the Galeria department store group are said to lose their jobs!
The company has announced this.
Of 129 Galeria branches, 52 are to be closed by the end of January 2024.
The historic department store at Bahnhofsplatz in Munich is also affected by the clear-cut at Karstadt!
"This is a pitch-black day," said works council boss Jürgen Ettl on Monday, March 13th.
Department store shock: department store chain had to seek rescue in insolvency proceedings at the end of October
One thing was clear: the future would not look rosy for the group.
Many of the more than 17,000 employees hope, tremble and fear for their professional existence since the Signa Holding of the Austrian investor René Benko took over the group completely in 2019.
At the end of October, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof had to seek rescue in protective shield insolvency proceedings for the second time in less than three years.
From the start, CEO Miguel Müllenbach left no doubt that the renewed restructuring would involve significant cuts.
Originally, 81 branches were threatened with closure.
Middle Franconia is hit particularly hard: in Nuremberg, two Kaufhof branches are closing, and one in Erlangen is closing.
Galeria-Kaufhof-Karstadt: Union announces resistance in view of the branch closures
52 houses are on the cross-off list: 31 locations are to close by January 31, 2024.
21 as early as June 30, 2023. This also includes the historic department store on Bahnhofsplatz.
The union has already announced resistance.
"We will not give up the branch at the train station without a fight," says Verdi union secretary Dominik Datz to our editorial team.
The listed old building on Bahnfsplatz, which is owned by Benko's Signa Group, is currently being renovated, after which the department store should have returned.
The other four locations in Munich are to remain in place.
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Galeria-Kaufhof-Karstadt: New insolvency plan provides for creditors to waive their claims
On March 27, the creditors' meeting will decide whether the top management's restructuring concept will go through.
The insolvency plan provides for a waiver by creditors worth billions.
If they do not agree to this, there is a risk that the branches will be closed immediately.
Even if this scenario is considered unlikely - after all, the creditors would get nothing: The tension among the employees remains.
Galeria general representative Arndt Geiwitz gave some hope yesterday: Thanks to the second protective shield procedure, there is still a perspective for the department store group.
"I am convinced that the Galeria department stores have a future, even if not in their current form," said Geiwitz.
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