REWE CEO Alain Caparros
And now REWE will inform the public about the consequences of the merger. For this purpose REWE placed a full-page advertisement in Germany's national newspapers. In the advert Alain Caparros the REWE CEO underlined its commitments to take over the supermarkets, logistics facilities, warehouses and administration of Kaiser's Tengelmann, should REWE receive the contract. This means that all the jobs are guaranteed.
The advertisements appeared in newspapers such as BILD-Zeitung, the Welt, the Süddeutschen Zeitung, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Handelsblatt. Furthermore the REWE Group urges Karl-Erivan Haub, the owner of Kaiser's Tengelmann, to join them at the negotiation table. And quickly find a solution for the future of Tengelmann and its staff.
The entire text of the advertisement:
Dear friends and customers,
In the coming weeks a decision will be made on Kaiser's Tengelmann. This could change the future of the German supermarkets. But first it has to be decided if the giant EDEKA gets permission from the Minister for the merger with Kaiser's Tengelmann. EDEKA is already the largest supermarket chain in Germany. The power of the market leader EDEKA would continue to grow after the takeover of Kaiser's Tengelmann at the expense of the competition in the supermarket sector and ultimately at the expense of customers and suppliers. Therefore the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) prohibited the merger.
At the moment the managers of EDEKA and Kaiser’s Tengelmann try to get permission off the minster for the merger. Their main argument is that only the takeover by EDEKA guarantees the jobs at Kaiser's Tengelmann. And no alternative guarantees this result.
We should put a stop to this game at the cost of Kaiser's Tengelmann employees! Because there are other and better alternatives for the takeover by EDEKA. The argument of job security is false. According to statements of the Federal Cartel Office EDEKA and Kaiser's Tengelmann agreed on a reduction of the workforce with thousands of jobs at Kaiser's Tengelmann before completion of the acquisition. This would increase the value of Kaiser's Tengelmann. The plans of the management of both companies have caused a considerable amount of uncertainty among employees of Kaiser's Tengelmann. They stated this in an open letter to Karl-Erivan Haub, the owner of Kaiser's Tengelmann.
The recent announcements of EDEKA, about the job security are vague and questionable too. There is no disclosure about the type and quality of the jobs or about the pay and the council structure!
To stop the pretence that there is no alternative or a better solution we decided openly and unequivocally to state that:
1. REWE Group declared in the summer of 2014, and repeatedly thereafter its willingness to completely take over Kaiser's Tengelmann.
2. A complete takeover of Kaiser's Tengelmann by the REWE Group is possible. Renowned jurists such as former Chairman of the Cartel Commission, Prof. Dr. Wernhard Möschel see the takeover of Kaiser's Tengelmann by the REWE Group as a possibility to "improve the competition between the German supermarkets".
We have emphasized in the past months over and over again to the owner of Kaiser's Tengelmann that we are prepared for a takeover. And we offer a better alternative for the employees of Kaiser's Tengelmann because we guarantee, unlike EDEKA, in a comprehensive, transparent and comprehensible way that:
▪ The security of all jobs, also the logistics, warehouses and administrative jobs
▪ A collective agreements for all employees
▪ A comprehensive participation by works councils
▪ Single supermarkets aren’t sold off or get turned into a discounter with the redundancies that go with those changes.
Now we wait for a response of Karl-Erivan Haub, the owner of Kaiser's Tengelmann.