Markus Söder (CSU) actually wanted to advertise the 49-euro ticket yesterday.
But suddenly the prime minister found himself at the press conference in the MVG customer center at the main train station with a desperate woman in his arms - Karstadt employee Zerin Kader appealed to the politician for help.
Munich - "Mr. Söder, you can help us!
You can save Galeria,” Karstadt employee Zerin Kader blurted out.
First composed, then she cried.
She was on her way to work when she happened to see Söder, she tells tz.
"And that's when it erupted out of me."
The 53-year-old has been working as a cashier in the department store on Bahnhofsplatz for 14 years.
Two and a half weeks ago it was announced that the house is one of the 52 branches nationwide that have to close in the ongoing insolvency proceedings.
It is true that Galeria continues.
But the fate of this branch seems sealed: On June 30, the lights are supposed to go out at the main station.
A shock for the 250 employees.
"I could cry every day.
We are a family,” says Kader.
Nobody would have expected the closure, says her colleague Sabine Müller.
"We gave up so much - and now we're sitting on the street overnight."
Munich: Karstadt cashier matches Markus Söder - and bursts into tears
As reported, after the refurbishment, operations should have continued on a smaller scale in the listed old building.
That was the original plan of the owner, René Benko's Signa Group.
But now Zerin Kader and her colleagues are faced with the shards of their professional existence.
"We're getting the layoffs now," says Müller.
70 percent women work in the department store at the train station.
"The workforce is 52 years old on average and comes from 27 nations," says Works Council Chairman Eduard Wölbitsch.
Friendships have developed between many women over the years: "We meet and even go on vacation together," says Kader.
For them and many others, Karstadt is a second home away from home.
That's another reason why she was "glad that I asked Mr. Söder for help".
His reaction - for them a glimmer of hope.
"He comforted me and wants to help." His Minister of Economics is negotiating the future of the insolvent company, Söder said yesterday.
The goal is to save as many jobs and locations.
Unfortunately, he couldn't really promise anything.
Insolvency plan approved: thousands lose their jobs at Karstadt
The department store giant gets another chance: the creditors' meeting approved an insolvency plan on Monday.
The price is high: thousands are losing their jobs.
"The restructuring plan and thus the concept of the department store of the future give Galeria-Karstadt-Kaufhof the best chance of getting back on the road to success," said the chief representative Arndt Geiwitz.
It is now crucial that the concept is implemented quickly and consistently.
Trustee Frank Kebekus emphasized that a rejection of the insolvency plan would have had catastrophic consequences.
Then, according to him, the closure of all branches and the dismissal of all employees would have been unavoidable.
For the creditors, approval of the bankruptcy plan means giving up a large part of the money that the company owes them.
You will only get 2 to 3.5 percent of the money.
According to the finance agency, the federal government, which helped Galeria with 680 million euros during the pandemic, will also have to write off a “large part of the sum”.