Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Depot, a German retailer of decorative items based in Niedernberg (Bavaria), is cutting around 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring programme, mainly in its stores and at the company headquarters. Around one third of the approximately 300 stores in Germany will be closed in 2025.
The measure is part of insolvency proceedings and is due to declining consumer demand and growing competition from low-cost retailers such as Temu and Action. The job cuts will primarily affect store employees, with approximately one-third of positions in middle management also being eliminated.
The planned reductions include compulsory redundancies and the non-transfer of employment contracts as part of an asset deal involving the newly established GDC Deutschland GmbH. Additional indirect job losses among suppliers or service providers cannot be ruled out.
Reactions from trade unions or social partners have not yet been made public. The restructuring plan has been approved by the creditors’ committee, and landlords and suppliers have agreed to significant concessions.
Depot most recently employed around 3,300 people in Germany. In August 2024, a further 359 jobs were already cut in Austria Depot 2024 - AT.
Eurofound (2025), Depot, Bankruptcy in Germany, factsheet number 202625, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/202625.
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