Trigema boss: “If someone can work from home, it doesn’t matter”

Wolfgang Grupp, head of clothing manufacturer Trigema, is known for controversial statements. Sometimes it is about the division of labor between men and women, which he sees as clearly attributed to biological reasons, and sometimes it is about single women, whom he himself blames for the failure of his relationships. These are statements that stick in your memory and leave many people shaking their heads. The 81-year-old businessman apparently enjoys the role of provocateur.

Now Grupp has given an interview to “Tagesspiegel” in which he once again stands out with concise words. Among other things, it concerns working conditions at Trigema. There is no home office in his company: “If someone can work from home, it doesn’t matter,” says Grupp. And further: “The more people study, the more they want to work from home – but with me they could register as unemployed because no one notices whether they are working or not.”

In any case, this is not possible for the 700 seamstresses, but working from home is also not allowed for the 38 people in management: “I am at the company every day and I need my seniors on site, every day. This speeds up decisions. I decide quickly, everyone gets an answer immediately.”

“I want to look good, I want to make money”

The four-day week isn’t a problem either: “If I say “yes” to everything, whether it’s a four-day week or work-life balance, I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more is required.”

The Burladingen-based company advertises that it is one of the few textile manufacturers that produces exclusively in Germany. Grupp describes himself as “selfish”: “I should be fine, I want to make money.” Unlike many other managers, however, he is responsible for problems that arise in his company. He criticizes former boss Dieter Hundt for having “first managed the business and then sold” his former company, the automobile supplier Allgeier, to the Chinese. This means he is not a “model businessman”.

At the end of the year, Grupp wants to hand over management of the company to his children.