McGregor restarts with fewer employees

Fashion chain McGregor is making a restart as Doniger Fashion Group, but at the cost of 200 employees. These are employees whose been working for the fashion house for a long time, Doniger announced on Friday, ANP reports.

The 200 employees to be laid off worked for the retail branch that the group is getting rid of. According to the owners, who are the same as before the bankruptcy, that branch is unsalable if the employs with "seniority" stay on, because no potential buyer would take over their expensive accrued rights.

Doniger will replace these experienced staff members with temporary workers, who will eventually be given a permanent contract. This will keep the employment level agreed to with the bankruptcy administrator.

Union CNV calls this move scandalous. "We discussed with McGregor a social plan, with which certain obligations for this group could be written off, but according to the management it's already to late for that", Roos Rahimi said to the news wire. Rahimi believes that the fashion chain's bankruptcy was avoidable, describing it as "disguised cutbacks". "Once a company files for bankruptcy, it's free game. Then the works councils and trade unions have no control anymore."