NÖ: Start for Kika/Leiner Insolvency Foundation
The state and the Public Employment Service (AMS) are providing three million euros for the Kika/Leiner insolvency foundation, according to State Councilor Susanne Rosenkranz (FPÖ) in St. Pölten. The foundation focuses on training and further education in professions with staff shortages, such as in nursing.
Kika/Leiner Insolvency Foundation Aims to Counter Long-term Unemployment and Skills Shortage
Affected individuals can join from May 1, 2025, until the end of 2026, receiving foundation unemployment benefits and a monthly 100 euro training allowance, explained Sandra Kern, state manager of AMS Lower Austria. Of the approximately 550 affected Kika/Leiner employees in Lower Austria, around 90 have registered with the AMS, of which 25 have found a job again according to Kern. Some have directly switched to other employers, while many affected are still under notice periods.
The employment foundation was decided by the state parliament and the state government a few months ago and, according to Rosenkranz, is an instrument to "avoid long-term unemployment, offer new perspectives to those affected, and actively counter the skills shortage." The focus is on placement in shortage occupations and nursing, said the state councilor: "We want to encourage as many as possible to go into nursing." AGAN (Employers & Employees - Society for the Promotion of the Lower Austrian Economy) has been commissioned as the foundation carrier.
Not only retail employees are affected by the insolvency, but also warehouse and restaurant staff, said Markus Wieser, president of the Chamber of Labor Lower Austria. They would receive new perspectives through professional qualification. Wolfgang Ecker, president of the Economic Chamber of Lower Austria, described the foundation as an "important bridge for those affected from a difficult starting position to new confidence."
Union Calls for Permanent Employment Foundation of the State
For the managing director of the GPA union of Lower Austria, Michael Pieber, the foundation is an "important step to open up a professional perspective for those affected." However, many other companies and industries are also affected by insolvencies and job losses. "Therefore, we call on the state government to establish a permanent employment foundation of the state, as it exists in Vienna within the framework of WAFF," Pieber stated in a release.
"We do not want to build parallel structures to the AMS," emphasized Rosenkranz when asked. Through an extension notice, the circle of those eligible for the employment foundation could be expanded. "We are prepared and have created a basis with this foundation," the state councilor noted.
Kika/Leiner filed for bankruptcy in early December after an unsuccessful search for investors. A total of around 1,400 employees in Austria were affected by the insolvency. In the course of the bankruptcy proceedings, around 2,400 creditors have so far registered claims amounting to 316 million euros. Of these, 63 million euros were recognized by the insolvency administrator. The furniture chain closed the remaining 17 locations in Austria at the end of January.
(APA/Red)
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