News Pig market
Empty slaughter hooks forces Tönnies to reorganize
Tönnies, the largest meat group in Germany, is going to reorganize considerably. Due to a structurally tighter supply of pigs, meat deboners are out on the street. Last week, Danish Crown also announced similar actions in Denmark.
About 1.000 jobs will disappear at the various German production locations of Tönnies, the German media write. At the main location in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, where many Dutch pigs are also slaughtered, 1.500 of the 7.000 jobs will be cut or relocated internally. Reorganizations are also underway in Sögel and Weisenfels. Remarkably enough, the meat group speaks of a temporary decline, while the overcapacity in German slaughterhouses appears to be permanent.
Shrink pig herd
Due to a sharp contraction in the German pig population, the slaughter figure has remained below the level of 750.000 for some time. This means that about a quarter of the slaughter capacity in Germany remains unused. As a player with the most slaughter hooks, this contraction will undoubtedly hit hard. Until recently, German (and also Dutch) slaughterhouses still had to contend with significant staff shortages. In March, Tönnies was still discredited when they were recruiting Ukrainian refugees in Poland to work in Germany. Tönnies countered this criticism by pointing out that it offers prospects for the future.
The slaughterhouses in Denmark are also noticing the consequences of the shrinking supply of pigs. Danish Crown, by far the largest slaughterhouse in the country, made announced last week 350 employees to be laid off.
Update: 26/9/2022
Tönnies has contradicted the mass layoff after reporting in German media. Jobs would have been shifted, but no employees would have been laid off.
Wouter Job
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