In advance, the German employment agency asked for a future concept. Just “keep it up” is not enough, it was stressed ahead of Monday’s creditors’ meeting.
The German Federal Employment Agency (BA) is linking its support to the restructuring of the insolvent German department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, which belongs to the Signa holding company of Tyrolean investor René Benko, according to a report in “Handelsblatt”. “It is important that there is a future concept for the business model,” said BA board member Daniel Terzenbach of the paper.
Just “keep it up” is not enough, Terzenbach stressed ahead of a meeting of creditors scheduled for Monday on the group’s insolvency plan.
The struggling department store chain recently announced it would close 52 of the 129 stores it currently owns. Later, an agreement was made to continue five locations – the reason was a concession from the respective owners.
BA boss sees good opportunities for affected workers
Along with the Economic Stabilization Fund, banks and landlords, BA is one of the Gallery’s main creditors. According to the insolvency plan, cited by “Handelsblatt”, the authority paid 96.8 million euros in insolvency money.
Terzenbach sees good opportunities for employees affected by the closure. The German employment agency has already held consultation hours at individual agencies and is planning so-called digital meeting rooms with companies that can offer new career prospects. However, the Gallery must “also invest in employees who remain in the company so that in a few years we will not have the same problems again”, warned the management of BA.
(APA)