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Major changes in the
Metro board
Metro AG has made major changes in its Board. Dr Wolf-Dietrich Loose, who was responsible for human resource management issues, has left the Board as of the end of September. In the new and smaller Board, personnel matters will be handled by Mr Zygmunt Mierdorf. The other Metro AG board members are Dr H.-J. Körber, Dr. A. S. Kirsten and Mr J. Suhr. There are changes also in the workers' representation in Metro. Holger Grape will leave DAG for other responsibilities later this autumn. He has been succeeded as head of the commerce department by Ulrich Dalibor, who will therefore also take over Holger's functions as the Uni Commerce Metro coordinator. In connection with the changes in management, Metro has made it clear that it will continue operating all its present store formats. They now have a year and a half to show whether they can turn a profit. Earlier, there have been speculations about a possible sale of two Metro chains, the Real hypermarkets and the Praktiker DIY markets. Wal-Mart has frequently been mentioned as a possible buyer of Real. On the other hand, real brings important volume to Metro's food sector, without which it would be more difficult to negotiate favourable deals with industry when buying for the Metro Cash&Carry wholesale markets. Uni Commerce has been in close contacts with Metro concerning a possible need to convene the European Works Council to discuss any labour relations effects of these changes. It has, however, been agreed that the next meeting of the Metro Euro-Forum can take place on 12 - 13 December, as originally agreed.
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