German chocolate manufacturer Alfred Ritter is to cut dozens of jobs at its HQ.

The privately owned group pointed to rising costs and muted consumer spending.

Around 70 staff at Ritter’s head office in the southern German town of Waldenbuch face the axe. Approximately 1,000 employees work at the company headquarters. The group employs 1,900 worldwide.

“Our company has been operating in a challenging economic environment for several years,” a Ritter spokesperson said.

“The combination of highly volatile raw material prices, persistently rising costs – particularly for energy and packaging – and a noticeable reluctance to spend on the part of consumers is putting structural pressure on our business model.

“Against this backdrop, it is necessary to make sustainable adjustments to our cost base. This also involves making our structures more efficient.”

In 2025, Ritter booked a turnover of €712m ($832.3m), up 15% on a year earlier. The spokesperson said the company was loss-making last year, compared to a “small profit” in 2024. No specific figures for profits were disclosed.

In November last year, Ritter struck a deal to buy Creative Natural Products, the US business behind the Chocolove brand, for an undisclosed sum.

Creative Natural Products, headquartered in Boulder in Colorado, makes its Chocolove products at its facility in the city.

In a statement at the time, Ralf Hilpüsch, the CEO of Ritter Sport USA, said the takeover was a “decisive step in our ambition to build a strong and influential presence in the US chocolate market”.