Inside Kaufland
Kaufland wants to invest half a billion euros per year after a scandal
Kaufland draws consequences from the revelations of star and RTL: The company announces a “5-point plan”. Among other things, all markets are to be basic cleaned.
The Kaufland supermarket chain reacts to the research of star And RTL, which partly uncovered severe grievances and hygiene defects in dozens of branches.
First, Kaufland will invest half a billion euros in new refrigerated furniture every year, it said in a message from Friday afternoon. The company did not write for how many years this investment should apply.
Second, each branch in Germany will be “comprehensively cleaned” again in the coming weeks.
Third, one will fall back on the expertise of independent external institutes “in order to continue to train employees in the area of” freshness and hygiene “. They are “qualified fresh coaches in action”, which were specially designed for the counter area.
Again star According to Kaufland, the branch in Homburg, Saarland, is temporarily closed, according to Kaufland. The company specified this message: the market will be renovated within the next six months, but not as planned as planned. Kaufland invest a “double -digit million amount”.
The last point: a new management team in the Upper Bavarian Bad Tölz. The market will also be closed for a whole week. In the past few weeks, “comprehensive measures” have been taken to “ensure that the strict hygiene specifications are met at any time”.
Exchange branch management and apparently crisis sessions at Kaufland
A research team of star And RTL had examined 50 branches of Kaufland across Germany, one of the country’s largest supermarket chains. In 48 of them it was sometimes severe grievances: mouse droppings in a baked goods department and faecal germs on chicken meat, mold on cheese and on refrigerated shelves. Employees reported that they are overloaded – and a working atmosphere of fear. In the end, they said, especially the turnover. In the branch in Bad Tölz, the research team revealed, among other things, tricks with best -preservation data, and strong mouse infestation in the branch in Homburg.
Kaufland had opposite star And RTL communicated that the information from the research is seriously accepted and follow it, some of the defects described “definitely do not correspond to our specifications”. The quality of the products and the protection of customers, a spokeswoman wrote, had “top priority for us”. The working atmosphere for employees is also important to the company.
In the message from Friday afternoon, Kaufland boss Jochen Kratz had himself been quoted: “The latest pictures from our branches hurt us and make us affected. The images shown in no way correspond to our standards in dealing with food and cleanliness.” The company will take care that customers can rely on Kaufland.
The first consequences were announced on Thursday, the day of publication. Kaufland confirmed to the German press agency that the branch management was replaced in Bad Tölz and Homburg.
Kaufland employees report: “The whole shop is turned on the left”
In the meantime, managers are said to have been appointed to the headquarters to Neckarsulm and asked to pay more attention to compliance with hygiene measures in discussions. A request for this left Kaufland unanswered.
From union circles it is said that the employees are now being ordered to “cleaning orgies”, a “cleaning rage in all branches”. This happened before the research was published; Maybe after the Kaufland research team had confronted with the grievances. In internal chat groups, in the star And RTL have access, employees complained about it, cleaning, do not belong to their tasks. So far, Kaufland has not yet commented on an inquiry.
Source: Stern
