Unilever to shed more jobs and factories
Unilever is planning to close three factories in the Netherlands by the end of 2008 and cut about 474 jobs – one third of its manufacturing workforce in the country.
In line with plans to increase competitiveness and accelerate growth, Unilever has announced plans to close its factories in Delft, Loosdrecht and Vlaardingen, The Netherlands, by the end of 2008. As a result, Unilever expects that 474 positions will be made redundant – about a third of the company’s Netherlands workforce.
The three remaining Dutch sourcing units in Hellendoorn, Oss and Rotterdam will remain part of the European supply chain network. Unilever says that competitiveness in these sourcing units will be further improved over the coming years, both by targeted investments and the identification of ongoing cost reductions.
Delft produces sauces, dressings and peanut butter. Production will be relocated to Spain, Czech Republic and Rotterdam. Vlaardingen manufactures products for household care. Production for these products will be relocated to Italy, the UK, Hungary and France. Loosdrecht produces dry soups, sauces and meal kits for the Knorr and Conimex brands. These activities will be relocated to Germany, Switzerland, France and Poland. Hellendoorn which employs 168 people is the Ben & Jerry’s factory for Europe, also produces ice cream for the Hertog brand. Rotterdam produces margarine, including Becel and Blue Band and employs 212 people. Oss is the sourcing unit for soups, sauces and Unox smoked sausages and employs 481 people.
“The proposed closure of our factories in Delft, Loosdrecht and Vlaardingen is the outcome of a thorough review of all our sourcing units in the Netherlands,” said Unilever in a statement. “Compared to other sourcing units in Europe, these three factories all suffer from higher operating costs and in addition, Vlaardingen has significant lower capacity utilisation.”
Kees van der Waaij, National Manager Unilever Nederland, said: “We are aware that this plan has a great impact on our employees in the Netherlands. That is why I believe it is important to emphasise that the Netherlands is and will remain of strategic importance to Unilever. Over €60 million of investment has been made in the Dutch sourcing units over the past five years, Unilever’s largest Research & Development Centre worldwide is located in Vlaardingen and our Corporate Centre is located in Rotterdam. Moreover, Hellendoorn produces our fastest growing ice cream brand for the whole of Europe (Ben & Jerry’s) and Rotterdam boasts the largest margarine sourcing unit in the world and is designated as Europe’s innovation margarine factory. Finally, Unilever the Netherlands has shown the strongest sales growth in Western Europe over the past two years. In order to retain this unique position, it is important that we continue to ensure we remain competitive in our country‚”
The company is now entering into consultations with employee representatives and draft a social plan with the trade unions.
Unilever Nederland generated annual sales of over €1.1 billion in 2006. Unilever as a whole currently has around 179,000 employees in approaching 100 countries and generated annual sales of €40 billion in 2006.
