The descent into hell of express delivery platforms in France continues. Getir and Gorilas have been placed in liquidation by the Paris commercial court, the group’s lawyer told AFP.
“The liquidation of Gorillas and Getir has been pronounced,” said Marie-Sophie Vincent, a lawyer for Gorillas’ CSE.
“Not surprised” by the decision, the employees “just hoped that the case would end after the roller coaster of recent months,” explains Rémy Frey, CGT trade delegate in Paris. “We are all very tired,” adds Olivier Coulibaly, Gorillas employee and staff representative.
“A plan, drawn up by the representation of the staff, was annulled by the company, which refused to finance it at the last moment,” Me Vincent told AFP. “Today the question is at the level of the PSE and the payment of salaries,” he added.
More than 1700 employees
“Nazim Salur (the founder of Getir) does not respect his commitment made before the commercial court to pay the salaries of July 2023, (which) plunges the employees into precariousness,” denounces Johann Tchissambou, union representative of the CFDT of Getir France.
Getir France had 200 million euros of debt at the end of March 2023, according to an internal note to the company consulted by AFP. In 2022, the group jointly billed 23.8 million euros, Gorillas 26.6 million euros and Frichti 69.9 million euros, according to the same document, for a total of 120.3 million euros for the Getir group. in France.
The brand has 70 stores and 2 warehouses in France, and employs 841 people (workforce as of May 1, 2023), according to figures released by the judicial administrators in the sale offer.
For its part, Gorillas has 30 stores in France for 500 employees, and Frichti, another Getir entity, has 24 stores, a warehouse, a kitchen and employs 367 employees. In total, the Getir group thus employs 1,708 people in France.
In France since 2021
In June, Getir announced that it will leave the French market and seek a buyer for “all or part of the group in France.” The French subsidiary of the Turkish giant had been in suspension of payments since March.
“The complex legal environment and the regulations imposed by local administrations have made the success of the company very difficult,” justified the French subsidiary of the Turkish giant that had established itself in national territory in 2021.
The same argument had been presented at the beginning of June by its competitor flicker, who had announced throwing in the towel in France for the same reasons.
In March, the sector suffered a major setback, as the government decreed that “dark stores” – the places where products are stored at home – were warehouses, not businesses, paving the way for regulation by the town halls of this activity, and even the closure of certain premises.
Source: BFM TV
