Mercator has already closed 10 branches of the technical trade

“Closing and opening retail facilities is a normal process in which retailers exchange smaller, less profitable units for those with higher profitability,” in this regard, the company explains, adding that the closing of retail facilities is the last step in the series of activities they carry out before closing.

No one will lose their job

According to them, thirteen closed units are few compared to Mercator’s extensive retail network throughout Slovenia. At the same time, all closed units are close to their other units, at the same time they are opening new ones, the company, which is headed by Tomislav Kramarić, also wrote. “We are looking for solutions for new content in the facilities together with local communities, but it is essential that none of the employees lost their jobs – they were transferred to nearby units.” In addition to the aforementioned, they also closed ten branches of M Tehnika, in connection with which, as they say, they changed the business strategy and consequently the business model, thus adapting to market conditions. “Even in this case, we are looking for solutions for new content in the facilities. None of the employees will lose their jobs due to the closure of the units, not least because there are currently more than 500 jobs open in Mercator, so there is no need to worry about job security .”

They want to know where they will be assigned

Despite these assurances, however, some employees were clearly confused by the manner in which they were informed of their fate. Several Slovenian media recently received an anonymous letter in which employees of Mercator’s M Tehnika stores express concern about the closure of the branches. “We were informed about the closure on Wednesday, and the last working day was already on Saturday of the same week, when the store was still open for customers. After that, there were instructions on how to vacate the store. The only assurance we received was was that no one will be left without a job. However, we employees deserve to know more – where will we be assigned? We would expect concrete answers at the end of this month, so the situation is for increasingly uncertain,” among other things, they wrote in the letter.

As they point out, most of them got a job in a technical trade with the intention of working in this field: “Nor do we have the right to refuse the work offered – be it in a warehouse or a grocery store – otherwise we are not entitled to unemployment compensation or severance pay. Among the employees of M Tehnika, we are not only young people who could easily find another job. Among us are also people who are only a few months or years away from retirement, people with disabilities, young parents and others who face various challenges.”

President of the Trade Union of Slovenia (SDTS) Tina Skubic she is also the president of the house union in Mercator, where she performs this function professionally. “The fact is that none of the employees will be left without a job, which is the most important thing for us. The rest are business decisions, which unfortunately we have no influence on,” he says, adding that these are very small business units, which in some cases had one or two employees. The conditions for employees will not worsen when changing jobs either, Skubičeva says: “All restrictions will be taken into account. As far as I am aware, workers with restrictions will undergo a new medical examination and all this will be respected.”

Is the sale of M Tehnika being prepared?

Secretary General SDTS Ladi Rožič he says that he is surprised that Mercator is shrinking its sales space by closing the branches of M Tehnika, which, according to him, is competitive on the market. “Thus, there can only be two options – that M Tehnika will be sold as a company, namely to a Croatian buyer, or that it will be sold as a closed branch, which would avoid AVK. I can’t explain it any other way, but these are only speculation, as we are not familiar with their business decisions.”

Mercator does not comment on rumors about the possible sale of M Tehnika or any other business decisions. In addition, they do not answer Vecer’s questions about whether additional branches are planned to be closed by the end of the year and whether they also include branches in northeastern Slovenia. Also not to the question of whether the information is true that they have reduced funds for advertising in the media this year. Mercator, which had slightly more than 7,000 employees at the end of last year, ended last year deeply in the red, namely, it made a loss of EUR 47.8 million last year, writes Večer.

necenzurirano.si