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The Basel-based Karger publishing house has announced the loss of 76 jobs.
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Dozens of employees are losing their jobs at the traditional Karger publishing house. The management is talking about realignment, but those affected are criticizing the way the company is communicating.
At the Basel-based academic publisher Karger, 76 employees are losing their jobs - around two thirds of the workforce. The dismissals were announced at the end of March, with notice periods of one to six months, as reported by the "Basler Zeitung". This is contained in a letter from S. Karger AG to the Basel Office for Economy and Labor regarding the consultation process, which is available to the newspaper.
According to the letter, the management is talking about a "necessary strategic realignment" and is cutting less profitable areas. Customer service, sales, IT and marketing are particularly affected. The finance department will be largely spared.
Founded in 1890, the traditional publishing house, one of the largest Swiss publishers of specialist medical publications, has belonged to Oxford University Press (OUP) for three months. With the takeover, President of the Board of Directors Gabriela Karger also resigned.
According to the report, the way in which communication was handled was the main source of discontent. "Each employee was given just 15 minutes to have their dismissal explained to them," one employee is quoted as saying. His conclusion: "It was a massacre."
Several employees reported that line managers had read the dismissals "step by step" from a script. At the same time, decision-makers sat together on site "with coffee and croissants" - which caused additional anger.
After the legally required consultation process, the management decided on severance payments of one month's salary as well as individual additional measures such as workshops and extended deadlines. There are contributions to the pension fund for older employees.
For many, this is not enough: "It's the absolute minimum," says one of those affected to the Basler Zeitung newspaper. The break with the company culture is particularly hard: "We had become accustomed to the warm cloak of a family business. [...] The people here are emotionally drained."
