The Eberswalder brand of German sausages will no longer be made in Brandenburg as the owner revealed plans to close the site.
EWN Wurstspezialitäten said today (6 January) that it will shutter its manufacturing facility in Britz in a phased manner through the end of February. Around 500 jobs are at risk.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Zur Mühlen Group, which owns EWN and in turn is a subsidiary of what is now the Premium Food Group following a change in corporate identity last year from Tönnies, only acquired the plant in 2023 after buying Eberswalder.
The Eberswalder brand will continue to be manufactured in Germany but at other undisclosed sites in East Germany.
EWN said internal discussions had concluded that there was “no economically viable alternative” but to close the Britz factory, with workers informed of the decision today following talks with the local works council.
The company explained that the meat and sausage market in Germany has “been facing major difficulties for years”, including price pressures, international competition and waning or falling volumes.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData“More and more international suppliers with lower costs are pushing into the German market,” EWN added. “Costs for wages, energy, logistics, and operating materials are also constantly rising. These factors have increasingly worsened the economic conditions for the Britz site in recent years.”
In a statement from management, EWN said: “We explored all possibilities until the very end to preserve the Britz site and the jobs. Unfortunately, we had to conclude that there is no realistic prospect under the given economic conditions.
“We sought a viable solution for all parties involved and now want to offer the approximately 500 affected colleagues the best and most effective support possible.”
EWN said investments had been made at the plant to address the market challenges and expand into new product segments but those could not be “developed to a sufficient extent”.
It added: “At the same time, further investments in refrigeration systems and other modernisations would have been necessary in Britz. These costs increased to a mid-double-digit million figure also due to general price increases and additional regulations.
“However, these investments would not significantly increase productivity at the site and could not be refinanced in the medium and long term due to market conditions. Therefore, these high investments would not be economically justifiable.”
In talks with the local works council a plan for the affected workers has been drawn up, including trying to find alternative career options or places with other companies in the region.
