Felina and the Works Council have agreed on the socially responsible reorganization of the business model at the Mannheim site in a reconciliation of interests and comprehensive social plan.
- Reconciliation of interests and comprehensive social plan agreed
- Strengthening of the Mannheim location in the areas of design, product development and sales
- Investments in ERP software and digitalization
- Mannheim location secured
Essentially, the social partners have agreed to outsource the production-related work that still exists at the Mannheim site to sister companies in the SIA ELG Group and to enhance the significance of the Hungarian site. More than 50 employees will remain at the Mannheim site in the future. The transfer of tasks to the sister companies will affect 31 employees whose jobs will be eliminated in the future. The entire adjustment will be accompanied by a qualification offensive. The aim is to enable as many employees as possible to make a direct transition “from work to work”. A transfer entity is to be set up to provide training and find follow-up jobs on the labor market.
“The cessation of production-related services at the Mannheim location is painful. We are aware of the consequences of this step for our employees, and we stand by our responsibility,” says Managing Director Neeme Jõgi, adding, “The changes in our industry require a future-oriented reorganization of Felina, which we will master through a practiced and resilient social partnership. The implementation of the realignment creates clarity and prospects for our employees in Mannheim and is an expression of the social partners’ ability to shape the future. Our qualification offensive is intended to enable the employees affected to make the transition ‘from work to work’ as directly as possible.”
The employees have the opportunity to qualify for the labor market in the transfer entity.
Due to the structural changes in the textile industry and the textile retail sector, the discontinuation of production in Mannheim is unavoidable. The restrictions on travel and movement in recent months, the problems and increased costs of logistics, and our consumers’ growing awareness of sustainability issues make the changes unavoidable.
With the completion of the successful reorganization of Felina GmbH, the general manager Thilo Stassen is leaving the company. His operational duties will be taken over by Patrick Galm as Finance Director. In this role, Mr. Galm, together with Dirk De Vos, will continue to drive the reorganization of the Felina Group forward on an ongoing basis.
“On behalf of all members of the ELG and Felina management, I would like to thank Thilo Stassen and his team for their successful work over the past 18 months. Mr. Stassen first stabilized Felina during the Corona pandemic in a very difficult period and subsequently actively helped to shape the new structure with strategic vision. At the same time, Mr. Stassen has provided important impetus for the modernization of the IT landscape and digitalization,” says Indrek Rahumaa, majority shareholder of ELG Group.
„The measures will enable us to respond more quickly to new market and customer requirements in the future and improve our customer service. Unfortunately, the headcount reduction is unavoidable. Yet at the same time, the investments in modern ERP software and a new and improved B2B Website demonstrate that with this bundle of measures we are strengthening Felina overall and continuously improving our service to our customers. Our new collection is a success of our strong design team in Mannheim. This location remains of central importance for Felina,” says Dirk De Vos.
For additional information:
Dirk De Vos
Executive Commercial Director
Felina Group
Dirk.DeVos@felina.de