Its last money was transferred to mother company Arcandor just hours before the company declared bankruptcy at the start of the month, a spokesman confirmed, reacting to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Suppliers have since been supporting the company with services and goods, trusting that the government will decide to fund it next week.
Even the costs of printing and delivering the Quelle catalogue are being borne by the printer Prinovis.
Horst Seehofer, head of the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union, CSU, has urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to decide in favour of the company, and criticised the government for taking so long to make a decision.
“I appeal to the government to approve the credit by Monday at the latest, as otherwise the jobs at Quelle will be acutely endangered,” he said.
The Bavarian government has already promised €21 million, while the federal government is being asked for €25 million and Saxony state is being asked for €4 million.
Seehofer said Bavarian promise was responsible, and would not be a waste of tax-payers’ money. He also criticised anonymous comments made to newspapers by members of the government saying that Quelle was not seen as worth saving, as irresponsible.
More than 10,000 people are employed by the company in Bavaria.
The workers’ council said it would try to check the reports of cash transfers to Arcandor. “We want to know, to the last euro and cent, what went on over the last few days,” said Ernst Sindel.
A spokesman for Arcandor said there was nothing strange about it, and stressed that the money transfers did not have anything to do with the Quelle bankruptcy.
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