Day three after the declaration of bankruptcy of motorcycle manufacturer KTM was dominated by the first company meetings for the affected employees. “The mood is depressing,” said Mario Moser-Luger of the GPA union. With the upcoming layoffs, we want to prevent hardship and take into account families and couples where everyone works in the company.
Before the opening of insolvency proceedings at three motorcycle manufacturer KTM companies, the first companies had contacted the creditor protection associations and wanted to know more about the procedure for registering their claims. The first Mattighofen employees who had questions were also submitted to the Upper Austrian Labor Chamber last week.
More than 3,600 employees are affected by the company’s restructuring process: they are waiting for their November salaries and Christmas bonuses and will this week receive a 90 percent advance on their December salaries, which KTM will transfer, as the company announced.
Clear up any ambiguities, clarify formalities
Between Monday and Wednesday there will be a total of twelve company meetings in Mattighofen, Munderfing and Schalchen, at which the insolvency experts from the Chamber of Labor and the restructuring administrators will inform employees. The priority is to clarify any ambiguities and explain what is now needed to initiate payment through the insolvency compensation fund.
There is great uncertainty among the employees of the leading company in the Braunau region, and the uncertainty is noticeable. “The mood is depressing,” said Mario Moser-Luger, who supervised the meetings at KTM Components GmbH on behalf of the GPA union on Monday. He was “influenced” by many vicissitudes. The fact that you have not paid a monthly salary causes problems for some people. “Some are completely dependent on it and had budgeted the money,” says Moser-Luger.
Set up own hotline
“There are many questions – for example what happens next and of course how the payment from the insolvency compensation fund works,” reports Karoline Neumüller, head of the insolvency law department at AK Upper Austria. The Chamber of Labor has now even set up its own telephone hotline and special email addresses to answer questions as quickly as possible.
How long will it take for the bankruptcy compensation fund to transfer the money owed to KTM? Patience is required here. “In the best case, we hope that the fund can pay out at the end of January,” Neumüller said. Because: The more than 3,600 employees must complete their applications, then they are sorted and the data is collected, which in turn must pass the strict control of the regional court and the restructuring administrator.
First court hearing on December 20
The insolvency procedure is conducted as a self-managed restructuring procedure. That means: KTM management continues to run the company, mainly Stefan Pierer and Gottfried Neumeister. The first reporting meeting will take place at the regional court on December 20, where the restructuring administrators will report extensively on the developments of the past weeks.
The works council keeps a close eye on hardship cases
There is great unrest about employment in the working population. After insolvency proceedings were opened, it was announced that up to 500 jobs would be lost by the end of the year. It is said that certain hardships must be avoided if jobs are cut. “The works council can object if, for example, both partners in a married couple are in danger of losing their jobs,” says Moser-Luger. Apparently they want to do something similar with families too. KTM often employs employees from multiple generations.
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.
