FrieslandCampina, the recently-formed Dutch dairy giant, is to close its plant at Oud Gastel with the loss of 105 jobs.
The company, set up late last year after the merger of Dutch dairy groups Friesland Foods and Campina, said yesterday (7 May) that the plant will close in June 2010 and production activities will move to other FrieslandCampina production locations.
The Oud Gastel plant produces cream, ice cream mix, coffee creamer and cream cheese. The manufacture of cream in aerosol cans will move to Lummen, Belgium, production of coffee creamer in cups will transfer to Aalter, also in Belgium, coffee creamer in cartons to Leeuwarden and cream and ice cream mix in wholesale packaging to Lummen and Nuenen. The best production location for cream cheese will be “studied further”, the company said.
With production capacity available in the other locations, production can be transferred with “relatively little extra investment”, the company said. In Lummen, the number of jobs will increase by 18 due to the need to expand capacity. Production at the other locations will start with existing capacity.
FrieslandCampina said an “appropriate solution” will be found for the employees who will lose their jobs, either within FrieslandCampina or elsewhere. The company said it is expected that enough jobs will be found within the company to accommodate them.
