Trade - 500 redundancies at Lila Bäcker: insolvency administrator takes over
The insolvent bakery chain Lila Bäcker has to close around a third of its 230 branches. Around 500 of the 1,600 employees will have to go, the company announced on Tuesday. In October, the bakery chain with branches in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg and Schleswig-Holstein applied for insolvency proceedings under self-administration. In December, the last investor for a takeover of the entire company backed out. Insolvency proceedings were opened on January 1, as confirmed by the responsible district court in Neubrandenburg. Christian Graf Brockdorff was appointed as the insolvency administrator.
According to the company, branches in all four federal states are affected by the closures. According to the information provided, the redundancies primarily affect Unser Heimatbäcker GmbH, which produces bread and rolls in Pasewalk, as well as the branches and cafés. The focus is also on Unser Heimatbäcker Logistik GmbH, which is responsible for supplying the branch network. No redundancies are planned at Unser Heimatbäcker Holding GmbH and Mäkelbörger Kuchenmanufaktur GmbH, which produces cakes and pastries in Neubrandenburg.
"An overall solution for Lila Bäcker failed due to difficult market conditions caused by increased energy and raw material prices, which other bakeries are also suffering from," Viola Kaluza, head of Unser Heimatbäcker Holding GmbH, which trades as Lila Bäcker, was quoted as saying. Brockdorff announced that "from January, we will continue the Lila Bäcker with around two thirds of the branches and employees. Because these 160 branches and cafés are in interesting locations and are well frequented". He regrets the dismissal of almost a third of the staff. "This is the only realistic option for us to retain most of the stores and around 1100 jobs. We are continuing to negotiate with investors with this goal in mind". Brockdorff had previously supported the intended restructuring in self-administration as provisional administrator.
Lila Bäcker had already filed for insolvency at the beginning of 2019 with around 2,500 employees and 400 stores and was relaunched in September 2019 with 270 stores and 2,100 employees thanks to a state guarantee from Schwerin.
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- The insolvency administrator, Christian Graf Brockdorff, will continue Lila Bäcker with around two-thirds of its branches and employees in Brandenburg, where Mäkelbörger Kuchenmanufaktur GmbH, a subsidiary, is located.
- The bakery chain's insolvency proceedings, initiated under self-administration in October, were formalized by the local court in Neubrandenburg on January 1.
- Despite the insolvency proceedings, there will be no redundancies at Unser Heimatbäcker Holding GmbH and Mäkelbörger Kuchenmanufaktur GmbH, which both have operations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg.
- Initially, the bakery chain applied for insolvency proceedings due to difficult market conditions caused by increased energy and raw material prices, affecting both Lila Bäcker and other bakeries in Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Schleswig-Holstein.
- Despite these challenging circumstances, the insolvency administrator is actively negotiating with potential investors to retain as many branches and jobs as possible for the food industry in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and other regions.
- Unfortunately, around 500 employees in Neubrandenburg and other locations will face dismissal due to the bakery chain's insolvency and resulting restructuring.
Source: www.stern.de
