Terminated Schlecker Employees Hope For Settlement

BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 23: A customer walks past near-empty shelves in a Schlecker drugstore on the last day the store is open for business on March 23, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. On March 24 a number of Schlecker stores are to close in Berlin, including three within a one-kilometer stretch on a single street in Kreuzberg district, as part of a total of 2,100 stores that have been slated for closure in coming weeks nationwide. Terminated Schlecker employees, including the three from this store, are hoping that Germany's states will agree to fund a transfer for terminated employees that would provide them a financial settlement. In all approximately 12,000 Schlecker employees will lose their jobs as the bankrupt chain hopes to return to profitability. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)