News Pigs
Danish Crown is looking for additional boners due to growth
A shift in Danish Crown's workforce is imminent. After several rounds of layoffs in recent years, the Danish cooperative slaughterhouse now reports it is seeking at least 100 additional deboners to accommodate the influx of additional pigs for meat production.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
Due to the growing Danish pig population and declining live exports to Germany, more pigs are being offered for slaughter. Existing deboning capacity is currently operating at full capacity, necessitating expansion.
The plan is to convert the Vejen site, which Danish Crown acquired in 2023, into an efficient deboning facility over the next nine months. The buildings on the 14.000 square meter site are already suitable for food production, but still need to be adapted for deboning pigs. The necessary permits are expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2026.
More pigs and slaughters
The number of piglets and finishers in Danish pig farms has risen sharply year-on-year. Last year, 5,40 million weaned piglets were counted on October 1st, but this year there were 5,69 million. An increase of 0,29 million, or 5,4%. The number of finishers rose even faster: from 2,28 million in October 2024 to 2,54 million. An increase of no less than 11,4%.
A total of 15.030.348 million pigs were slaughtered in Denmark last year. This represents a 5,4% increase compared to 2024, according to Danish statistics.
Trend break
Danish Crown's renewed hiring is a clear departure from its downsizing policy of recent years. Last year, 500 (office) jobs were cut, and hundreds more were eliminated in previous years. The company employs a total of approximately 25.000 people.