Dutch dairy producer FrieslandCampina is to shut down two plants in Holland as it adjusts to a European Market 'under pressure'.
Sites in Eindhoven and Woerden will shut in 2015 amid the company's moves to restructure the Dutch production and distribution of fresh dairy products, with a loss of 174 jobs.
Production of fresh dairy at Eindhoven, which employs 142 people, will be shifted to plants in Rotterdam and Maasdam in mid-2015.
Meanwhile, fresh dairy distribution will be transferred from Woerden, where 58 staff work, to Maasdam in two years' time.
The moves will also mean 15 production jobs and 18 distribution jobs will be lost in Maasdam in the course of 2015. Jobs will also be axed in Limmen, Drachten and Rotterdam. However, 72 jobs will be created at a new distribution centre in Maasdam. On balance, 174 jobs will be lost in the restructuring.
In a statement, the company said that the move was necessary "in order to meet its growth objectives and improve efficiency within Europe".
“We want to lower costs and at the same time invest in our brands for our home market in Europe,” said Bas van den Berg, managing director of their Netherlands/Belgium division.
“Unfortunately, this plan has consequences for a number of our employees. We see it as our responsibility to help them find new jobs within or outside FrieslandCampina,” he said.
© 2013 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
