Yenişehir Mayor Ercan Özel clarified the news about YESAŞ.

Yenişehir Mayor Ercan Özel made a statement regarding the news about YESAŞ on social media and some news websites. Mayor Özel said, ‘We were either going to declare bankruptcy for YESAŞ or we were going to continue to offer YESAŞ to our people in a quality manner by standing it up. Our goal is to protect and strengthen YESAŞ. We chose to stand YESAŞ up.’ Yenişehir Mayor Ercan Özel also made a statement regarding the news about the sale of YESAŞ. Pointing out that the news was made to damage the corporate identity of YESAŞ and Yenişehir Municipality, Mayor Ercan Özel said, ‘Due to this situation, I feel the need to share the truths with you, my valuable fellow citizens’ and explained the questions about YESAŞ.
“Under a heavy debt burden” Mayor Ercan Özel stated that as of March 31, 2024, YESAŞ’s total tax, social security, market debts, promissory notes debts, and severance pay debts exceeded 15 million. Mayor Ercan Özel said, ‘YESAŞ was established to produce bread, the basic food of our people, in a quality and affordable manner, and has been serving with great dedication until today. However, due to the mismanagement of the financial structure in recent times, it has fallen into a heavy debt burden.’
“YESAŞ is in a bankrupt position” Mayor Özel said, ‘The severance pays of our employees who retired on February 15, February 26, and March 20, 2024, have not been paid in the past period. Unfortunately, payments have not been made due to this heartbreaking situation, although more than 1 million lira of severance pays should have been paid. These debts are also important for the company to fulfill its legal obligations to its employees. YESAŞ has serious market debts exceeding 2 million TL to our tradesmen. The promissory debts to the company’s flour suppliers exceed 3 million in total. In the examination conducted by sworn financial advisors, we unfortunately determined that YESAŞ is in a bankrupt position according to the Turkish Commercial Code. We sadly found that the company’s financial sustainability is severely threatened after the examinations.’
“Aiming to preserve brand value” Mayor Ercan Özel emphasized that even if bread prices were increased, it is impossible to pay off past debts without a capital increase. Mayor Özel said, ‘The aim of the capital increase is to stand YESAŞ up and preserve its brand value. It is to be able to pay the severance pays of our retired employees. It is to be able to fully cover the salaries of our employees on time. It is to continue to ensure that our people can obtain quality bread cheaply.’
“Savings still with Yenişehir Municipality” Mayor Özel stated that YESAŞ would either go bankrupt or continue to offer its services in a quality manner by standing it up. He said, ‘At the establishment of YESAŞ in 1981, 51% of the shares belonged to Yenişehir Municipality. Today, 94.6% of the shares belong to our municipality. Now, we are planning to transfer the 43.6% share of YESAŞ, which belongs to our municipality, to YOSAB, another organization of our municipality. Despite this transfer, 51% of YESAŞ’s shares will remain with our municipality, and the authority to save will still be with Yenişehir Municipality. This step is an important initiative to strengthen the financial structure of YESAŞ, to be able to realize its future investments, to pay the salaries of our employees and market debts on time, and to provide better service to our people.’
Mayor Ercan Özel also clarified whether the shares owned by YOSAB could be sold. He said, ‘In the transfer agreement to be prepared, a definite provision will be included stating that the priority purchase right of the shares owned by YOSAB will remain with Yenişehir Municipality. Besides, the board of directors of YOSAB consists of Yenişehir Municipal Council Members. Therefore, the authority still lies with Yenişehir Municipality. The rumors about the sale of YESAŞ are completely baseless and aimed at harming our municipality and executives. Every issue regarding the transfer of a part of YESAŞ’s shares to YOSAB is brought up in our Municipality Council, broadcasted live with a transparent municipal understanding, and has been discussed for months with full transparency. Commissions established on this matter act within the framework of common sense. Our elected council members from other parties are also involved in the determination of auctions and valuations. We kindly ask our people not to believe these baseless allegations for the sake of informing the public accurately.’
Mayor Özel concluded his speech as follows: ‘We want to be able to pay the severance pays of our retired employees from the past period. Why would anyone object to that? We want to stand up YESAŞ, which is currently in a bankrupt situation. Why would anyone be uncomfortable with that? We also want to pay our employees their salaries on time and in full every month. Who wouldn’t want that? There will certainly be those who oppose the growth and development of YESAŞ, the payment of employees’ salaries, and the covering of the severance pays of retirees. We present these negative attitudes to our citizens. However, with the power given to us by our people, we will do our best to stand up YESAŞ. The decision is in the hands of our valuable people.’