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Berlin / Essen (dpa) - The federal government is negotiating with the ailing department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof about state aid.

As the German press agency learned from insiders, it is about a loan up to a mid three-digit million amount.

A decision could be made on Wednesday at a meeting of the Economic Stabilization Fund committee.

This is where representatives from several federal ministries sit.

"Spiegel" had previously reported that Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof had basically agreed with the federal government on a state loan of up to several hundred million euros in order to finance the company through to Easter.

The deal has not yet been finally approved, the details are still being negotiated.

The federal government founded the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) in March 2020 to support large companies with guarantees and capital aid during the Corona crisis and to preserve jobs.

For example, a billion dollar rescue package for Lufthansa and help for the travel company Tui have already been agreed.

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Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof (GKK) had only closed insolvency proceedings at the end of September last year.

It was supposed to enable the last remaining German department store group to make a new start by closing more than 40 branches, cutting around 4,000 jobs and canceling more than two billion euros in debt.

But the second lockdown probably thwarted the plan.

The group itself is keeping a low profile when it comes to the current situation.

But the GKK general works council chairman Jürgen Ettl only warned a few days ago in an interview with the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”: “Currently the fixed costs are consuming the reserves.

It's easy to calculate how long we would survive a lockdown. "

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210126-99-174993 / 2