Danish Crown has said it will restructure its meat processing operations in Denmark in a move that will impact more than 820 jobs.
The Danish meat co-op said yesterday (16 January) it is taking a number of measures designed to make its pork processing capabilities more competitive. It wants to bring slaughtering capacity in line with the number of pigs for slaughter produced by its members.
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“We have spent the past few months turning every stone to find out how we can responsibly solve the current challenge of surplus capacity while simultaneously keeping a close eye on costs in our Danish production,” Danish Crown CEO Kjeld Johannesen said.
The board of directors has recommended Danish Crown’s deboning facility and subsidiary Tulip Food Company’s ready meals plant in Faaborg be closed. The moves will hit around 470 jobs.
The company is also starting negotiations with employees and stakeholders at slaughterhouses in Skærbæk and in Bornholm in a bid to establish a “more sustainable cost structure”. Danish Crown said it is seeking “alternative solutions” to make production at Bornholm financially sustainable. Likewise, slaughtering operations in Skærbæk must become more cost-effective, the firm insisted.
“We obviously need to be able to receive the members’ sows when they need to be slaughtered. However, especially in Skærbæk, sow slaughterings are costly and not competitive, and this needs to be looked at from a strategic point of view. Either we have to minimise the activities, or production has to be smarter and more streamlined,” Jesper Friis, CEO of Danish Crown’s pork division, said.
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By GlobalDataDanish Crown did not confirm how many jobs were on the line in Skærbæk and on Bornholm.
As part of the restructuring plan, Danish Crown will also downwardly adjust the capacity of its pig slaughter houses. The capacity adjustment will affect approximately 350 employees at “several” production facilities, the group revealed.
