Salzburg chocolate

Anger and despair at works meeting

Works meeting in Grödig: The workforce is faced with nothing.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

The last Mozartkugel is due to roll off the production line in Grödig at the end of the year: The management of Salzburg Schokolade has now also broken off negotiations on a social plan. Many are left with nothing. 

The atmosphere is charged at the works meeting at Salzburg Schokolade in Grödig on Monday. The expressions are gloomy, the disappointment is written all over everyone's faces "Anger, despair, sadness," is how works council chairwoman Reka Kiss describes it. Since the company management is not even prepared to conclude a social plan, the workforce of 65 employees is left with nothing.

Trade union demands social responsibility
"There are also long-standing employees, people who are 55 plus, who are having a particularly hard time now," says Daniel Mühlberger from the Pro-GE trade union. He now wants to remain vocal and demand social responsibility. As a first step, the employees will only work according to contract and will no longer be prepared to do any extra work.

The last Mozartkugeln are due to leave the production line in Grödig at the end of the year. Until then, the employees are still needed. The company management has so far not approached them at all and only wants to pay the statutory severance payments.

Managing Director: "We can't do anything else"
Friedrich Plail, Managing Director at the site, also stood at the gate after the works meeting. Why is he not seeking socially acceptable contract terminations? "Every day, we make sure we survive and we can't do anything else," says Plail. Part of the machinery has only just been sold in order to be able to pay out vacation pay. He points out that the company wanted to downsize at the site, but no reallocation was possible.