Galeria closures in Hesse: Verdi warns of consequences for inner cities

AIn view of the plans to close seven branches of the insolvent department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof in Hesse, the Verdi trade union warns that the remaining locations will bleed dry and that there will be consequences for the inner cities. You have to be careful that the planned job cuts and the abandonment of the houses do not turn out to be “dying on installments”, explained the regional department manager Marcel Schäuble on Wednesday.

According to Verdi, more than 600 employees are likely to lose their jobs as a result of the closures. In addition, there would probably be another 300 jobs that will be eliminated as the remaining branches are downsized. “Fewer staff in a smaller area and with a reduced range of goods could permanently jeopardize the competitiveness of the department stores,” warned Schäuble. You need marketable concepts and sufficient staff.

Local and regional alliances with personalities from politics and society are necessary to save department stores, because a galeria exit could also reduce the attractiveness of inner cities. They want to put pressure on the company and publicly so that the company and owner René Benko “live up to their social and economic responsibility”.

Germany’s last major department store chain announced on Monday that it wanted to close 52 of the 129 stores as part of the insolvency proceedings. The closure is to take place in two waves by the end of January. This will also eliminate several thousand jobs. According to the group’s plans, the remaining branches are to be comprehensively modernized over the next three years.