The online delivery service Gurkerl had previously been looking for new staff for a long time. Now 290 of the approximately 1000 employees have to be fired. Gurkerl spokesman Manuel Kalleder did not confirm the number, but did not deny it either.
According to the “Standard” report, the “early warning system for layoffs” was “triggered”. The reason for this is the planned complete automation of the logistics center in Vienna’s 23rd district. The Munich and Frankfurt locations are already being converted. In Vienna, the integration process should take longer because the warehouse with 14,000 products is significantly smaller.
Extension course could not continue like this
“The need to make room for automation means less manpower is needed,” says Kalleder. With the automation, the Czech owner, the Rohlik Group, wants to produce more at all three locations and thus enter the profit zone faster. According to ‘Der Standard’, it became clear in mid-January that the massive expansion of the online supermarket would not continue. Then it became known that Rohlik was in the process of merging the management of Gurkerl and the German subsidiary Knuspr.
Gurkerl has grown very fast. A lot of money has been wasted due to poor organization and a lack of structures, the newspaper quotes “people who know the company”. The presence of the brand shows that large sums of money have probably been spent on marketing. So now the red pencil is needed not to close completely, they say. “We need to take a step back to then take two steps forward,” said company spokesman Kalleder. He dismisses rumors that certain parts of the company would be outsourced to the Czech Republic or Germany.
Employees: toilet breaks no working hours
There have also been repeated allegations of poor working conditions at Gurkerl in the past. Every hour there is a 10-minute warm-up break in the cold store. However, to take advantage of this, employees must clock out and clock in again, and toilet breaks are also deducted from work time, former and current employees reported to the “Standard”. On the Kununu rating platform, a job at the company is often discouraged. The tone is rough, the controls are too precise and those who don’t deliver enough have to leave.
The then boss Beurskens denied such a system, but confirmed high fluctuations in the warehouse and that employees “have to perform”.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
