US frozen potato-products supplier Lamb Weston plans to close its manufacturing site in Broekhuizenvorst in the Netherlands.
In a statement yesterday (4 June), the company said the move is intended to “align” its international production network with “evolving market conditions”.
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Lamb Weston chief supply chain officer Sylvia Wilks said: “While this is a very difficult step, particularly given the strong commitment of our Broekhuizenvorst team, it is necessary to position us to improve our operational efficiency and better align our manufacturing footprint with customer needs.”
Around 110 employees at the site are set to be affected.
Lamb Weston said it will begin a formal consultation with the Works Council in line with Dutch legal requirements.
No date has been given for when the Broekhuizenvorst facility will cease operations.
In a separate regulatory filing, Lamb Weston said the planned closure is expected to generate total pre-tax charges of about $80m to $110m.
The charges will be recorded in its financial year ending 30 May 2027, with at least 20% expected to involve future cash outflows, according to the filing.
The Dutch closure follows another planned shutdown announced in January, when Lamb Weston earmarked its Munro facility in Argentina for closure, a move affecting 100 employees.
Lamb Weston president and CEO Mike Smith, who was promoted from COO at the French fries maker in January last year, announced a $200m annualised cost-savings programme in July.
He also revealed a complementary ‘Focus to Win’ strategy, which Smith said at the time includes “zero-based budgeting, assessing our non-core assets, and augmenting our commercial go-to-market” strategy.
The Broekhuizenvorst site closure is also part of that strategy, which includes “prioritising markets and channels, strengthening customer partnerships, achieving executional excellence and setting the pace for innovation”.
Smith launched the measures amid pressure from shareholders Jana Partners and Continental Grain Co. to turn around the business and also bowed to demands to revamp the Lamb Weston board last summer.
In April, activist investor Starboard Value added to that pressure, urging the company to restore market confidence and set out a clear route to “sustainable” profit growth.
The private-equity firm pushed for 25% adjusted EBITDA margins by fiscal 2029 through a “balanced mix of profitable revenue growth and cost reductions”.
New York-headquartered Starboard had disclosed a “significant” shareholding in Lamb Weston in March and called for a strategic review of overseas assets, including the possible sale of select operations in the APAC region.
In its third-quarter results for fiscal 2026, reported in April, Lamb Weston posted net sales of $1.56bn, up from $1.52bn a year earlier.
For the period ended 22 February, net income fell to $54m from $146m, while adjusted EBITDA dropped by $101.3m year on year to $271.7m.
