There will be no major job cuts at the Tyrolean food retailer MPreis, which has its headquarters in Völs. As the company announced on Monday after a round table with representatives of the regional government and the social partners in the Innsbruck Landhaus, it wants to compensate for the cuts “through natural fluctuation”. Employees are to be kept in the company through transfers. The union had previously spoken of 200 to 300 impending layoffs.
MPreis had recently been in the red and had imposed a restructuring process on itself, which, according to management, would involve “painful cuts in some areas”. There was talk of an “unavoidable reduction in jobs”.
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Now, Managing Director David Mölk said that “it was very important for us as a company” to make it clear to the state government and the social partners “that there will be no job cuts on the scale that have been rumored.” The company is aware of its responsibility “as an employer that has been firmly established in the region for decades.”
The early warning system of the Employment Service (AMS) does not need to be activated now, said managing director Stefan Gros, who was brought into the company in the spring as a finance and restructuring expert. It was again emphasized that there would be no branch closures.
If employees now want to “leave the company as a result of natural fluctuation”, State Councillor for Labour Astrid Mair (VP) is convinced that they can be taken on by other food retailers. VP Governor Anton Mattle had instructed two State Councillors last week to enter into talks with MPreis and the social partners. Representatives of the Chamber of Labour, the Chamber of Commerce, the Trade Union Federation, the AMS, the amg-tirol and the Association of Municipalities took part in the round table.
The food retailer and traditional Tyrolean company, which employs around 6,000 people, had recently suffered from economic turbulence. Buying reluctance, high energy costs, inflation, collective agreement adjustments and current declines in summer tourism were cited as reasons. In 2022, from February to December, the company posted a loss of 15.2 million euros on sales of 801 million euros. The key figures for 2023 were not yet available. This year, the company wanted to be in the black again. MPreis operates branches in six federal states and in South Tyrol.
