Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Unimarkt, an Austrian food retail company, announced the closure of around a third of its approximately 90 supermarket branches nationwide, alongside a significant downsizing of its headquarters in Traun, putting more than 600 jobs at risk, mainly among retail staff and administrative employees in Austria. Roughly 500 store employees and about 120 headquarters staff face potential job losses.
The restructuring follows the company’s earlier decision to fully withdraw from its branch retail business. While 43 stores will be taken over by Spar and the Rewe Group and several others may continue under new independent operators. The first eight outlets scheduled to close on 20 December 2025 and further closures expected during the first quarter of 2026 if no buyers are found.
Updated, 31/01/2026 Unimarkt announced the final closure of 30 retail locations, affecting around 250 employees, as well as a reduction in staff at its headquarters from 120 to 50 employees, bringing the total number of job losses to approximately 320. The reduction of redundancies was made possible because SPAR and REWE Group agreed to take over 43 of Unimarkt’s stores and retain the employees working at those locations, which is common practice in such takeovers. The future of another 10 stores remains uncertain, with decisions expected by the end of February.
The company has agreed on a social plan with employee representatives to mitigate the impact on the affected workers. Unimarkt Group continues to operate in wholesale and logistics but with reduced staffing levels.
Eurofound (2025), Unimarkt, Internal restructuring in Austria, factsheet number 204226, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204226.
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