A mountain of debts running into billions, debts to banks, suppliers, tax authorities and health insurers – the scale of KTM’s bankruptcy is still unbelievable to many. The problems are extremely tangible for the employees: in addition to the first layoffs and the long wait for wages and Christmas bonuses, the plug will now be pulled on production from Friday evening.
Workers and employees will soon receive the largest parts of their December salaries from the motorcycle manufacturer, which last week already paid wages for one day in November and the December part of the Christmas bonus.
The majority of the Christmas bonus and November wages will then flow out of the insolvency compensation fund in January – the insolvency law team of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor is currently checking the employees’ powers of attorney and data and supplementing them if necessary.
“Almost all powers of attorney have already been received”
The 13 company meetings that took place in Mattighofen, Munderfing and Schalchen are already having an impact. “We have already received almost all the powers of attorney,” says Karoline Neumüller of the Upper Austrian Labor Chamber.
While work is going on at full speed in many areas to fight for the survival of the company and to set the course for the future for the employees who lose their jobs, the lights went out in production at KTM on Friday evening.
Before the opening of the bankruptcy proceedings, the motorcycle manufacturer had already announced that it would stop assembling the bicycles in January and February and would resume single-shift work from March. On December 2, 250 employees were laid off.
130,000 motorcycles in stock
The break will not last two months, but even two and a half months. Because: The business interruption, which normally takes place around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, has been brought forward and extended by a week. It starts this weekend. Production is currently still taking place in two shifts, although KTM stated in the restructuring application that there are 130,000 motorcycles in stock.
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.
