FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The cost of closing stores at troubled German department store chain Karstadt would be high and the money would be better invested in the business, a Karstadt supervisory board member and trade union official told Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Karstadt's 17,000 employees are awaiting decisions on a planned restructuring after Austrian investor Rene Benko took over the loss-making chain last month.
Karstadt, a familiar sight in German cities and the owner of the famous KaDeWe luxury department store in Berlin, has seen its sales fall while rival chain Kaufhof gained market share.
Arno Peukes, who represents employees on Karstadt's supervisory board and is also an official at services trade union Verdi, said closure costs could be in excess of 300 million euros (238.84 million pounds) if Karstadt were to close 20 to 30 of its 83 stores.
"Closing a store costs a lot of money, 10-15 million euros for (redundancy) and ongoing real estate rental contracts alone," Peukes told Tagesspiegel newspaper in report released ahead of publication on Monday.
"The money would be better used in maintaining locations instead of eliminating thousands of jobs," Peukes said.
Last year Benko's property vehicle, Signa Holding, bought around 75 percent of Karstadt's luxury and sports-focused stores from U.S. investor Nicolas Berggruen, the son of an international art dealer.
In August, Signa took over the remaining minority stake and bought another 83 Karstadt department stores, exercising a call option for a symbolic 1 euro.
Karstadt's supervisory board is due to discuss plans for restructuring the group on Thursday.
"Neither Verdi nor the employee works council will take mass closures lying down," Peukes said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Gould; Editing by Hugh Lawson)