Statement by Mayor Barbara Ludwig on the announced closure of the Kaufhof shop in Chemnitz
Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The closure of Kaufhof is a bitter blow. For the employees and for the city. The building with its special architecture - and built for Kaufhof - was also a symbol of a new, interesting city centre.
The Kaufhof employees have made a great personal contribution in recent years to maintaining the location despite the Group's economic problems. With the decision announced today, all this seems to have been in vain.
Organised by the German Association of Cities, I will be consulting with my fellow mayors from the other 60 or so cities affected to see how we deal with this decision.
I will also invite the tradespeople in the city centre to a strategy meeting. Together, we have succeeded in recent years in making the city centre more lively through many small and large measures, such as the pub mile and festivals. This was and is a constant effort with setbacks. The closure of the Kaufhof department store has made the challenge even greater. But we will master this too."