Kitchen closure in the West Palatinate Clinic: 130 jobs in danger!

The West Palatinate Clinic continues to be faced with considerable financial challenges in 2024. As Rheinpfalz Heavy financial crisis since the clinic was known, which caused the management to take drastic measures. The closure of the in -house kitchen is planned by April 1, 2026.

Over 130 kitchen department employees have already been informed internally by managing director Thorsten Hemmer about the desired closure. The Verdi union had made the plans public before the official announcement by the clinic. Critics criticize the lack of transparency of the management and the decision to conclude the kitchen that is under the pressure of an enormous saving for savings.

Details for closure and their effects

As part of the necessary financial stabilization, the clinic provides for savings of over 80 million euros, which the shareholders - the city of Kaiserslautern (60 %), the district of Kusel (25 %) and the Donnersberg district (15 %) must be provided. A total of around 20 measures are part of a comprehensive renovation plan, including the optimization of the tertiary areas, which includes kitchen supply. A feasibility study carried out has shown that the outsourcing of the food supply may be more economically advantageous.

The kitchen in Kaiserslautern supplies the entire network of the clinic, including the locations in Kusel, Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden. Meals are prepared for around 1,300 patients every day, which makes closure a far -reaching measure with potential effects on the quality of care. According to SWR , the kitchen is also connected with the closure of the kitchen, although not every 130 kitchen workers are affected are.

The service union ver.di urges that long overdue investments in the kitchen and the technical devices have not been made and fears a resulting deterioration in the quality of the meals. A spokesman for the clinic explained that the financial resources required to renovate the kitchen could not be obtained at the expense of new medical devices. In the course of the closure, the clinic plans to look for a new meal provider in late autumn.