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Karstadt rescue deal likely to sacrifice 4,000 jobs

An investor negotiating to takeover the bankrupt Karstadt department store chain is talking of making 4,000 staff cuts and reducing rental payments at store sites, media reports said on Sunday.

Published: 25 April 2010 12:41 CEST

Karstadt rescue deal likely to sacrifice 4,000 jobs

Photo: DPA

German-Swedish investor Triton has linked its offer of €30 million to buy the chain to a number of conditions, the Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday.

It said 4,000 of the 26,000 staff would have to go, and the rental fees on the properties would have to be reduced before the chain could be bought – and then €60 million invested in it.

“We want to develop, not pull apart,” a spokesman for Triton told the paper. He said the investment firm believed in the potential of Karstadt, but emphasised that the company would have to make compromises to enable the sale.

He said Triton had submitted a strategic concept and did not want to keep anything secret.

But the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Sunday said that there is pressure for a rapid agreement, with Klaus Hubert Görg, spokesman for the bankruptcy administrators, saying they wanted a deal by the end of the month.

The most important creditors are considering the Triton suggestions, he said. But should an agreement not be reached by the end of the month, Görg said consideration would be given to a consortium called Highstreet, involving investment bank Goldman Sachs. It already owns around two-thirds of the 120 Karstadt department store properties, but could bid to take over the operating business, the FAZ said.

Görg has already said that Highstreet would be willing to reduce rents by €150 million to aid any potential rescue deal, while employees and others involved in running Karstadt have also said they would take hits to save the company.

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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