The Sugar Group Agrana announced on Wednesday to stop sugar production at the Leopoldsdorf location in Marchfeld with immediate effect. With this decision, only the sugar factory in Tulln remains the only production location in Austria.
In addition to the lower Austrian factory, the Czech factory in Hrušovany is also closed. In the Czech Republic, production will be concentrated in the OPAVA location in the future.
Agrana sees “sustainable basis” for operation
“We take this step fully aware of our responsibility for the sugar location of Austria. With the concentration at our location in Tulln we want to create a permanent sustainable basis for sustainable Austrian production, ”said Stephan Büttner, CEO of Agrana. The decision is “difficult but necessary”.
120 employees in Leopoldsdorf lose work
The closures affect around 270 employees, including around 120 in Leopoldsdorf. The company announced that it would offer extensive support measures, including retraining, qualifying programs and opportunities to take over jobs at other Agrana locations.
The Leopoldsdorf location must be stored as a logistics hub. According to the company, sugar is still stored in the existing silos and sugar is packed. Agrana wants to develop further future scenarios for the 70 -hectare company.
The high costs are the fault
The company mentioned increasing production costs as the reasons for the closure, which increased competitive pressure from the decrease in sugar consumption in the EU, market liberalizations and legal requirements. The economic framework had made the continuation of production at two locations in Austria and the Czech Republic “economically unbearable”.
With the concentration on Tulln, Agrana wants to focus primarily on the Austrian market and strengthen the partnership with domestic beet farmers.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
