Dusseldorf, Essen The Verdi union blames the management around boss Miguel Müllenbach for the renewed difficulties at the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. “Mismanagement and a lack of investment are primarily the problem. The external factors only come into play,” said Verdi board member Stefanie Nutzberger, who is responsible for trade, to the Handelsblatt. Above all, Müllenbach himself had emphasized the external problems, such as rising energy costs and poor consumer sentiment.
Verdi board member Nutzberger criticizes this clearly: “We do not accept that management completely ignores its own decisions and wrong decisions, makes a slim foot and wants to put employees on the street.” In addition, too little was invested in the new future concept.
In the middle of the important Christmas business, the department store chain is in the protective shield process. The mood is bad: frustrated specialists in administration and insecure employees in the branches make restructuring the company difficult. This has an impact on decisions for the future of Galeria.
Galeria employees fear for their jobs
“The anger and disappointment are great among our colleagues on site,” reports Verdi board member Nutzberger from discussions with employees who had already made a significant contribution to the restructuring in the first insolvency proceedings: “A galeria saleswoman, for example, is open every year about 5500 euros forgone to secure their jobs.”
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Now workers fear for their jobs again. After all, the owner, the Signa Holding of the Austrian billionaire René Benko, wants to close at least a third of the branches, in industry circles there is even talk of more than half.
Galeria employees: “The redundancy lists will come after the Christmas business”
That depresses the motivation. A long-time employee says: “Your job should also take the Christmas business with you, the redundancy lists will come afterwards as a thank you.” Today, there are often only two Galeria employees working on one floor, so it’s hardly possible anymore to advise customers. Now the fact that the company had imposed a hiring freeze for temporary workers before the application for the protective shield procedure is also having an effect.
In view of the uncertainty, many branch employees are already looking for new jobs, sometimes outside of retail. But many have been working at Kaufhof or Karstadt for decades, so reorientation is not easy, Nutzberger points out: “For those who have been employed by a company for a long time, the job is also a part of the family.”
Two years ago, like here in Brühl, many branches were about to close. Now the employees are worried about their jobs again.
(Photo: imago images/Manngold)
Galeria’s employees are well trained and are therefore generally in demand on the job market. “But it is also known how different the labor market is depending on the region,” says the Verdi board member. “We’re mainly talking about women in part-time jobs who work long hours in the company and are at risk of poverty in old age.”
But not only the employees in the branches are worried about their jobs. At the headquarters in Essen, too, many employees are afraid of the future. An insider reports that there are plans to cut half of the 1,900 administrative jobs. The company has not yet given any concrete figures for a possible job cut.
The middle level feels badly informed
Even at the middle level, employees felt badly informed about how the company could go on. In addition, with the general manager Arndt Geiwitz, many consultants have joined the company who also take care of operational issues such as rental, sales and construction. This scratches the self-confidence of managers from the second level, who feel restricted in their decision-making authority.
>> Read also: For which the department store chain now pays consultants millions of euros
Long before the opening of the protective shield procedure, the supervisory board had begun to become more involved in the operational business, apparently out of concern that bankruptcy might be delayed. Most recently, the management had to submit a weekly report to the control committee, according to supervisory board circles.
Since the arrival of the new general representative Geiwitz, however, the supervisory board has again played more of an observer role. Geiwitz and his advisors draw up the insolvency plan with the support of management. A Galeria spokesman said when asked: “Of course and as is absolutely usual, the insolvency plan will also be presented to the supervisory board.” The supervisory board should largely be faced with a fait accompli.
What also annoys many employees: Some time ago, the company conducted a broad-based future survey in which thousands of employees took part. But employees have the impression that their ideas have little influence on the future concepts of the department store operator.
Verdi calls for investments in the Galeria branches
Verdi board member Nutzberger confirms this. “It is a fundamental mistake by management to simply ignore what we consider to be important findings from the future survey,” she criticizes. The employees had provided plenty of ideas for a successful future: “This includes, for example, the regionalization of department stores and the expansion of decision-making powers for those responsible on site.”
As a first admission of the crisis, the Galeria management terminated the collective restructuring agreement concluded with the Verdi union at the beginning of October. This included securing the location and excluding redundancies for operational reasons until the end of 2024. Discussions on a successor plan have now started. A Galeria spokesman confirms that dialogue with employees is already under way.
But the fronts are hardened. Because Verdi insists on a new collective agreement. People should also be able to live off the money they earn in the long term, said Nutzberger: “Securing a livelihood through collective agreements is elementary for them, because in the end it’s about counteracting the threat of poverty in old age.”
>> Read also: Galeria now has to solve these five problems
“Saving broken is not a solution,” she says in the direction of the owner. “It would not only be the most brutal possible for the employees, but also the beginning of the end for the department stores.” The chief representative Geiwitz announced that the owner had promised “very high investments”. However, he did not name a specific amount when asked.
Owner René Benko must invest in the branches and thus assume responsibility for the more than 17,500 employees and their families, Verdi board member Nutzberger demands. And she warns: “Every euro saved destroys jobs and other branches.”
Transparency note: The Handelsblatt Media Group, like the Signa Holding of Galeria owner René Benko, is involved in the digital education platform Ada.
More: Which branches of the Galeria renovation could fall victim