Abstract: A method for performing a batch change in an automatic cheese winder, which has many identical winding stations disposed in sections and a transportation system for supplying yarn-wound spinning cops to and removing empty unwound spinning cops from the winding stations. Transport trays for transporting spinning cops or empty tubes revolve within the transportation system, which has many different transport paths, among others transverse transport paths leading to the winding stations. The clearing away of an old batch of yarn is done section by section. Thus, from the transverse transport paths of one winding station section, spinning cop-carrying transport trays are discharged until such time as that section has been cleared out. The temporary storage of empty transport trays in the transverse transport paths of a cleared winding station section is already begun while adjacent winding station sections are still being cleared.