Kika/Leiner in bankruptcy: 1,350 jobs in danger - what now?

The Kika/Leiner furniture chain is fighting with serious problems and has now finally slipped into bankruptcy. After the failed attempt at a renovation process, 1,350 employees now have to worry about their jobs. In a dramatic step, 17 branches have already been closed and several hundred employees in Styria will lose their workplace. Unionist Norbert Schunko reported on the despair of employees who fear for their future shortly before Christmas. Customers who have already made down payments are also faced with an uncertain fate, since it has not yet been clarified which orders can be fulfilled, as news.orf.at reported.

The insolvency administrator Volker Leitner has announced that the existing inventory is sold. This is done in the context of a structured exploitation process that will lead to the final closure of the remaining branches. The reason for the bankruptcy are, among other things, rising costs, a general economic recession and the lack of purchase interest in customers, which the company has brought into a precarious Situation. According to The press the insolvency administrator also had to indicate the large number of damaged customers who cannot expect reimbursement of their deposits due to the insolvency rights.