28 September 2007 - Nordzucker AG, Braunschweig, will close its factory in Güstrow at the end of the 2007 campaign, following a decision reached by the Management Board and the Supervisory Board on 27 September. The closure affects 99 employees. The main reason for adjusting the factory structure is the reform of the Sugar Regime which is forcing a strong reduction in the amount of sugar produced in the EU.
The workforce in Güstrow are covered by the terms and conditions of the reconciliation and social plan negotiated in 2005. This foresees all of the staff being offered jobs at one of the remaining five German factories. Employees above a certain age receive an early retirement option. All fourteen trainees will be able to complete their training and the following year of practical experience as agreed. Management Board Chairman Hans-Gerd Birlenberg underlined: “We are working together with the works council to achieve amicable socially-compatible solutions. This will involve making the employees offers in tune with the existing company-wide early retirement regulations, as well as job offers in other factories."
The first step in the Sugar Regime reform which intends to permanently reduce the EU sugar quota by around six million tonnes to a total of 12 million tonnes, failed to achieve its aims. The Council of Ministers on 27 September therefore approved the proposal from the EU Commission to raise the incentives to hand back quotas. The objective of this move is also to stimulate the return of quotas from the central sugar producing and beet growing regions in the EU. This political scenario formed the background to Nordzucker’s decision to relinquish 13.5 per cent of the sugar quota in Germany and return it to the restructuring fund. This enables the company to lessen the impact of the threatened uncompensated quota cut backs scheduled for 2010, and to stabilise at an early stage the considerable imbalances in the European sugar market.