The chief executive and other top managers at German retail and tourism group Arcandor resigned on Tuesday as involvency proceedings at the company opened at a court in Essen.

CEO Karl-Gerhard Eick, who was hired from German telecom group Deutsche Telekom on a five-year contract in March, will leave with a pay-off of up to EUR 15 mln guaranteed by investor-shareholder Sal. Oppenheim. The shareholder guaranteed him a EUR 3 mln payment every year for five years, in the event of insolvency. Eick, 55, may donate as much as EUR 5 mln to a foundation to help employees who are losing their jobs, Arcandor said in an e-mailed statement.

The court proceedings include parent company Arcandor, mail-order unit Primondo and Quelle, as well as department store chain Karstadt. The group, which has around 40 units, filed for insolvency in June after its application for state help was turned down. Arcandor’s travel unit, Thomas Cook, is not affected by the proceedings.

Eick said Arcandor had no prospects of continuing in its present form and that plans for merging Karstadt with rival Metro’s Kaufhof were not feasible.

Other managers to leave along with Eick include chief financial officer Ruediger Guenther; Karstadt department store chief Stefan Herzberg; Thomas Cook CEO Manny Fontenla-Novoa and other executives. Marc Sommer, head of the mail-order unit Primondo, will remain.