Insolvency Hits NRW Fiber Optic Firm Phoenix Engineering, Leaving Millions Owed
Phoenix Engineering GmbH in North Rhine-Westphalia has filed for insolvency, owing millions to subcontractors and leaving many employees unpaid amid hopes for restructuring.
- • Phoenix Engineering GmbH filed for insolvency in North Rhine-Westphalia with over €2.6 million owed to subcontractors.
- • Employees, including many foreign workers, have unpaid wages and face possible eviction due to halted rent payments.
- • The Cologne office has been vacated and company management is currently unreachable.
- • The insolvency administrator remains cautiously optimistic about restructuring despite financial challenges like rising interest rates and slow project approvals.
Key details
Phoenix Engineering GmbH, a fiber optic company based in North Rhine-Westphalia, has filed for insolvency, significantly impacting subcontractors and employees. According to the Cologne District Court, the firm entered preliminary insolvency proceedings at the end of September, with Dr. Jörg Gollnick appointed as the insolvency administrator. Subcontractors are collectively owed over €2.6 million, including a €350,000 debt in the Ems-Land region where a landscaping company alone is owed €200,000.
Employees, many of whom come from Romania and Greece, face serious hardships as salaries have not been paid for several months, and many risk eviction due to unpaid rent. Although the company claims that salaries for August were processed for 144 out of 320 employees, numerous others remain unpaid. Communication has ceased entirely, with the company's Cologne office now vacated, raising additional concerns among workers and creditors.
The insolvency administrator expressed hope for a possible restructuring despite the company facing liquidity problems exacerbated by rising interest rates and extended project approval delays. Notably, the insolvency does not affect the company's Greek subsidiary, which reportedly continues operations independently. The prolonged withholding of payments and sudden operational halt underscore the challenges fiber optic companies face amid a tightening financial environment in Germany.
This insolvency case illuminates broader industry risks linked to financing pressures and supply chain disruptions, sharply felt at the subcontractor level and among foreign-employed staff in Germany. The eventual restructuring outcome and measures to protect workers' wages remain focal points as the process unfolds.