"Krone" commentary

Thousands of jobs destroyed by the false messiah

Comments on current moments for the "Krone": Conny Bischofberger(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

While René Benko was brought before the magistrate in Vienna's provincial court on Friday, tears were flowing at the headquarters of the former furniture giant Kika-Leiner in St. Pölten. "He was the Messiah for us," says Martina P., describing the great hope that the workforce had placed in the company's "savior", "our hero!"

The Signa Group, owned by the Tyrolean real estate speculator and the eighth richest Austrian at the time, took over the Kika-Leiner chain in 2018 with the backing of the blue-turquoise government under Sebastian Kurz. "We really trusted him and gave him everything," says the 58-year-old in an interview published in Sonntags-Krone. "We even accepted salary cuts and reductions in working hours to get things back on track." Instead, things went downhill - just two months after Benko joined the company, the first 1,000 employees were made redundant.

Martina P. joined Kika-Leiner 40 years ago, she was the receptionist and voice of the company. She answered hundreds of calls a day and, as a member of the works council, also dealt with many small and large concerns of her colleagues. Now she is raising her voice against this ice-cold investment. Against a takeover in which all those who were proudly part of the Kika-Leiner family and part of its success no longer counted for anything.

Thousands of jobs destroyed by a false messiah. And behind every lost job is a person like Martina.