A new deal to supply Japanese confectioner Morinaga has led Barry Callebaut to shake up its production network in the country, including ending manufacturing at one factory.
The Swiss chocolate giant is to stop production at its site in Amagasaki after its fresh agreement to supply chocolate to Morinaga.
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The deal is an extension of an agreement signed in 2008 and will see Barry Callebaut ship products to Morinaga for another ten years.
Production at the Amagasaki factory will stop in the middle of next year and Barry Callebaut with take the work to a site it plans to build further north in Takasaki.
Two years ago, Morinaga said it would “focus part of its operations” in Tagasaki and Barry Callebaut said it wanted to be closer to its “main customer” in Japan.
A spokesperson for Barry Callebaut said 50 staff worked at the Amagasaki plant. The site’s 20 permanent workers would be offered the chance to move to the new factory, he added.
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By GlobalDataThe spokesperson said it was “too early” to say how many jobs could be created at the new Takasaki factory.
“With the new factory, we are creating new jobs in R&D as we want to accelerate the collaboration with Morinaga and sales as we want to tap new market potential. The new factory will also have a more efficient setup and therefore less employees directly working in the factory during the ramp up period. Therefore it is too early to say how many people we are employing in the new Takasaki factory.”
Barry Callebaut will supply 16,000 tonnes of chocolate to Morinaga but also plans to serve other customers from the new plant
