Comparison achieved
NRW and Tönnies reach agreement on Corona disputes
The Tönnies Group and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia are drawing a line under many Corona disputes – out of court, worth millions and in favor of social projects.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Tönnies group of companies have settled their disputes with an out-of-court settlement more than four years after a factory closure due to corona. This was reported by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Health and Germany’s largest meat company, which will be renamed Premium Food Group from 2025.
The country pays 3.2 million euros into an escrow account. According to the settlement, the entire sum must be “available for social projects for the benefit of employees in difficult work and life situations”.
Settlement means an end to all Corona disputes
The ministry in Düsseldorf emphasized in a statement that all ongoing legal disputes between the state and Tönnies with regard to the Corona outbreak on the company premises in Rheda-Wiedenbrück in the summer of 2020 have been resolved. The group of companies will stop all legal proceedings against the state, the cities of Rheda-Wiedenbrück and Gütersloh as well as the district of Gütersloh and will no longer assert any claims for damages.
Due to numerous corona infections at Tönnies, the largest slaughterhouse in Germany, the company was temporarily closed in the summer of 2020. The reopening was associated with additional requirements; the authorities had issued extensive quarantine orders for the around 8,000 employees on the site. According to the ministry, more than 1,000 court cases were still open in this context, involving compensation for continued wages or damages.
Tönnies sees the legal “hick-hack” as over
The group is completely forgoing the settlement amount of 3.2 million euros and is instead making it available to a charitable purpose that will still be determined together, Tönnies also emphasized in a statement from East Westphalia. “With the amicable solution, the legal hiccup that has lasted for years is finally over.”
A committee consisting of a representative from Tönnies and the ministry as well as the district president of Detmold, Anna Katharina Bölling, will decide which projects will benefit from the money. In addition, the state says it will reimburse the company 108,000 euros in court costs.
dpa
Source: Stern
