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Lötscher speaks in the past, because at the latest Friday everything will be gone: company, agency, job. In the coming months, he will no longer sell clothes, but himself – in the job market. The 48-year-old man is one of some 1,180 former Vögele employees who are losing their jobs. They are trainees, apprentices, professionals, many have made a retail apprenticeship as Lötscher.
Mass layoffs of this size are rare in Switzerland. The Charles Vögele Group, a family business of Pfäffikon SZ, once operated 759 stores in half of Europe. But at the latest from 2010, it tumbled, a year and a half ago, took over to the Italian clothing retailer OVS about 160 Swiss branches Vögele. The new owners targeted young people, replacing corduroy pants with jeans, skirts with warm pants. So they sold old customers from Vögele, but at the same time, there were too few boys. A difficult combination. At the end of May, he called: finito.
On Saturday, OVS closed a hundred stores still open. Until July 27, the staff will wipe, clean, pack leftover clothing. So it's over. It's sad, says Lötscher. But after all, the long phase of uncertainty comes to an end. Since he has many work contracts until the end of September. They must now claim their salary from the unemployment fund.
Not all endured
Since June, the OVS was in a state of demolition. Everything had to leave. There were colorful signs everywhere. "50%", "70%", discounts have changed day after day. In some branches are no longer cleaned, report the employees of OVS with whom Tagesanzeiger.ch/Newsnet spoke. At Lötscher, temperatures reached a difficult end as the air conditioning stopped working. Some customers have adapted to the mood, hamsterten, left clothes towers in the cabins.
Gion Lötscher was personally to help clear the men's division that had been his home for so long. There, he sold jackets, suits, socks, often to regular customers. Now the shelves and the return rods are now unified.
Not everyone experiences this decline. According to a spokesman for OVS, about 150 employees have been on sick leave. His colleagues believed in OVS, says Lötscher. They would have done the right thing, dragged clothes, worked overtime. After the last dark years of the Vögele, trust came back with care
There is also good news: Almost all apprentices have a follow-up solution
It's like that that you are wrong. Now, Lötscher is in a similar situation to that of 1991, when he came from Ilanz to Basel, looking for a job like today. "Only at that time, there was bacon on the bone." In 1991, Lötscher spoke in the fashion stores of Basel, without notice, with the application file under his arm. After a day, he could have started in three places. "Today, it would be unthinkable."
The bacon is gone, wasted by competition from the Internet and neighboring foreign countries.
As the Swiss economy grows, retail trade is in decline. There are 15,000 fewer jobs than ten years ago. The unemployment rate is 3.1%, which is better than in previous years. In 2016 and 2017, the average was about four percent.
Clothing and footwear stores are particularly affected. In the last three years, their turnover has decreased by 13% in total. At the same time, the share of online purchases in total income rose from 12 to 16%
Photos: Off for Charles Vögele and his successor OVS
The retail trade is also considered a severe industry. Salaries are lower than the Swiss average, employees earn between 3400 and nearly 5000 francs. Even with a long work experience, you rarely get more. There is no collective labor agreement.
The crisis is pushing the job market. He advertises many part-time jobs up to 50 percent or jobs in hourly pay, OVS employees report. It is generally expected that suppliers will be available on call. "You may have to work six days a week in a month, and you will hardly get to the next month," says a nearly 50-year-old man who worked for Vögele for 30 years. These contracts do not provide security or predictability beyond a few days.
Such working relationships are becoming more prevalent in the retail sector, says Judith Venetz of Unia. They moved to a legal gray area. Venetz advises OVS employees not to accept paid jobs at the present time. They should keep searching until they get a permanent position. But many said yes, be happy to find something.
"Most of our members continue to bet on a permanent job." Dagmar T. Jenni, Managing Director of the Swiss Federation of Retail Trade
Dagmar T. Jenni, Managing Director of the Swiss Retail Federation, states that the contracts of appeal would mainly offer companies difficult situations. "Most of our members still have permanent jobs."
Judith Venetz, the hardest hit by the job loss, said, "Former employees of Vögele. Anyone who is about to celebrate their 60th birthday or who has already committed it will find it hard to find another good job.
Effortless Online Application
Gion Lötscher, this nervous man whose smile leveling infrequently ("This is the seller in me"), has rolled all these concerns of thousands of time. In the evening, when there is nothing left to do, the existential fear the attack. Get a job at 100%? At his age? Almost impossible. Two jobs at the same time? Hard to achieve Reduce? It is not there. Lötscher has four children, the woman does not earn enough as a maternal assistant.
There is also encouraging news. OVS employees report several colleagues who have already been able to change jobs. According to a spokesman for OVS, about a quarter of the workforce has been reached. "And for almost all the apprentices who wanted to continue, a solution was found." The employment offices say that the good economic situation dampens the effects of mass dismissal.
PDF Format as an Application Barrier
Most importantly, candidates with a "positive attitude towards new customer needs and technical innovations" are in demand, according to L & # 39; retail trade association. "Preparation for continuing education" was also important. At the heart of all this is a proven trait, "passionate advice".
Gion Lötscher noted with his "positive attitude towards technical innovations" when he recently started responding to job offers. The application record of the past does not help much, today everything is digital. "It overwhelms me, I'm not a type of computer," he says. He could not follow online applications, jammed himself by creating a PDF or attaching documents. "Friends have helped me." He has also received job tips through relationships. And from Friday he has the right time to search.
Never sell more clothes
Lötscher never attended any further training. "No money, no time," he says. Like him, many are. In training, retailers rely heavily on the employer, it says in Unia. But they did not support all their employees.
Like many old Vögele, Gion Lötscher does not expect to be able to resell clothes even though he has done so for half his life. "Anyone looking for fashion / shoes will not have free time," says Dagmar T. Jenni of the Swiss Retail Federation.
He could also do something completely different, says Lötscher. "Even for the disposal of waste, I would go." He does not want to go too far. Well-known people advised him to start teaching in the care sector. There, people still need it. "Why not?" Says Lötscher.
He must work at least 17 years of age until retirement, as long as he was in Vögele.
(Tages-Anzeiger)
Created: 23.07.2018, 06:58
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