Type
Merger/Acquisition
Country
Germany
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Retail
Wholesale Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles
Wholesale On A Fee Or Contract Basis
46.16 - Agents involved in the sale of textiles, clothing, fur, footwear and leather goods

1,000 - 2,800 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
27 March 2019
Employment effect (start)
27 March 2019
Foreseen end date

Description

The German department store chain Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof will dismiss 2,800 employees after the merger of Galeria Kaufhof and Karstadt. 1,800 full-time employees of the former Galeria Kaufhof’s stores and 1,000 jobs at the former Galeria Kaufhof’s headquarter in Cologne wil be affected. The management has yet to exclude store closures, but it remains unclear how the job reduction of 2,800 will be reached without closures. In addition, the first compulsory redundancies have already been notified, while the union is strongly opposing the job reduction. Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof has 32,000 employees at 243 locations in Germany.

Update 17/05/2019: Cuts at Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof will be less severe than expected; after reaching an agreement with the works council, only 1,000 full-time employees of the former Galeria Kaufhof’s stores will have to leave, instead of the previously  announced 2,800.

Furthermore, works council and management will implement a volunteer’s programme, which will offer employees volunteering to leave Kaufhof a higher severance payment.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2019), Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, Merger/Acquisition in Germany, factsheet number 97562, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/97562.