France will not accept the decision of the German sugar group Südzucker to close locations and carry out a major reorganization. After weeks of farmers' protests, it is now the French government that is calling the top of the company to account.
Südzucker let the end want to restore the company's financial balance. By reducing sugar production by 700.000 tons, the international group hopes to save up to €100 million a year. They do this by, among other things: locations in Germany, Poland and France.
2.500 affected growers
For France this means that 2 of the 4 locations will be closed and that a major reorganization will take place. This puts an estimated 130 jobs at risk at the factories in Cagny (in the Calvados region) and Eppeville (in the La Somme region). The packaging activities in Marseille will also be discontinued.
In addition to the 130 permanent employees on site, the closure will also affect 2.500 beet growers in the relevant regions, the ministry in France calculated. For them, the sales opportunity is lost and with it the income of the growers in many cases.
hearty conversation
Despite the many protest actions by farmers, the German company is holding its ground. That is why Didier Guillaume, the Minister of Agriculture, and Agnes Pannier-Runacher, the Minister of the Economy, received the summit of the German company on Wednesday 13 March for a hearty conversation. According to the French government, the French should not be the victims of the reorganization.
In addition, the French government also fears for the competitiveness and viability of beet cultivation, the government in France said in a press release.
Keep activity
"The government has asked the management of Südzucker to consider all options to maintain industrial activities at these sites, and to consider the sale of the sites," the ministries said in a joint statement. The minister emphasizes that Südzucker has legal obligations when it comes to considering French beet growers as employees.
The state has asked the German company to review the project and open negotiations with the sector press statement† "It is inconceivable that France would support such a brutal solution and support the restructuring." Südzucker himself has not yet responded after the conversation.
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