The cheap fashion chain Primark wants to close four stores in Germany and cut 420 jobs. One is “overrepresented” in some regions and the profitability in the German stores is “at an unacceptable level,” it said in a letter sent by the management to the workforce.
The shops in Gelsenkirchen, Krefeld, Kaiserslautern and in the Frankfurt Northwest Center are affected by the realignment. Negotiations will begin with the employee side about the closure plans.
The agreements should be “as socially acceptable as possible”. “We regret it if redundancies become necessary, but the planned adjustment measures are essential.” Economic efficiency must be guaranteed in order to preserve the other jobs in the long term. Other existing shops are to be downsized. The company is also examining investments in new locations – but only where “the risk of cannibalization with existing stores is low”.
Primark is owned by conglomerate Associated British Foods (AB Foods), which reported falling profits. The reason given by the group was increased costs, which were not all passed on to customers.
