Danone to shut down three European dairy facilities

French dairy firm Danone has announced plans to shut down three dairy plants in Europe, a move which will affect around 325 jobs.

The company noted that the decision is in response to declining fresh dairy sales in the continent.

According to Danone, athough European sales volumes are showing signs of gradual improvement, its Fresh Dairy Products unit has seen overall business fall back, with local cases of surplus capacity.

The planned plant closures are at Casale Cremascoof in Italy, Hagenow in Germany and Budapest in Hungary.

Danone noted that all three countries have been hit by the fall in sales.

The closure of these plants, along with a gradual shift in production volumes to Belgium, Poland, Germany and France, are expected to allow the company’s Fresh Dairy Products division to improve its production capacity and competitive edge in Europe.

The closure of the plants will affect around 100 positions in Italy, 70 positions in Germany and 155 positions in Hungary.

The company will take social measures such as identifying job solutions for all the affected employees with the support of works council representatives.

The move will be fully implemented by mid-2015.

Danone, which has four businesses, comprising Fresh Dairy Products, Early Life Nutrition, Waters, and Medical Nutrition, operates 190 production plants with around 104,000 employees.

In 2013, the company reported €21bn sales, of which around 60% was from emerging countries.