The new owners of the ailing furniture chain Kika/Leiner are facing a major restructuring. As announced on Tuesday, 23 of the 40 branches will close. Up to 3900 workers are affected.
The central departments and administration are also being “significantly” reduced. “We stood in line Reading/Leiner to save. And we are now saving what can be saved,” said the new one Reading/Leiner operator and director Hermann Wieser in a broadcast on Wednesday.
“Deep cuts necessary”
“To make the company economically viable and especially competitive in the long term, sweeping cutbacks and rapid, consistent cutbacks are necessary,” explains Wieser. The furniture chain was taken over with an operating loss of more than 150 million euros and to cover the running costs, the liquidity requirement is around 8 to 10 million euros per month when sales fall.
“Unfortunately, the biggest victims are the employees who are least responsible for it,” says the new boss of Kika/Leiner. That is why, together with the works councils, a package of measures has been decided for the employees affected by the dismissal.
Formerly owned by real estate juggler Benko
As reported, the Signa Group of real estate juggler René Benko had sold the furniture dealer, who was once threatened with bankruptcy, last week. And all that: in addition to the real estate, the operation of the company was also part of the package.
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.
