Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
The management of the industrial bread manufacturer Neuhauser (groupe Soufflet) has announced to its Central works' council a large restructuring of its activities in 2017 that could lead to up to 370 job cuts on a total workforce of 2,086 employees. The management, in its project, foresees "a commercial reconquest, a reorganisation of production, in order to return to the financial balance to develop sustainable activity". The industrial baker has seen its turnover decreasing of about €63 million since 2014 with a total turnover of €428.6 million in 2015.
The main job losses will affect the three sites located at Folschviller (Moselle) that currently employs 660 people, with 259 job cuts (228 in production and 31 in support functions). The other job cuts will affect the plants of Maubeuge (Nord, 36 positions), Sainte-Hermine (Vendée, 71 positions) and Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône, 4 positions).
The management highlights that the group will propose internal reemployment measures for 201 positions within the group, including 78 positions in the affected sites. It will also open additional 123 positions in the framework of geographical mobility. The management will also negotiate with unions a voluntary departure plan to avoid forced dismissals. The Neuhauser bakery, built through successive acquisitions, has lost competitiveness in a competitive market where consumption patterns constantly force manufacturers to adapt. Moreover, since 2010, the company has been affected by industrial relations issues related to difficult working conditions and low wages. This situation had a significant impact on the absenteeism rate and on the daily losses of raw materials in the production lines.
Eurofound (2017), Boulangerie Neuhauser, Internal restructuring in France, factsheet number 89809, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/89809.