Vion to cease pig slaughter at Altenburg plant in Germany

Dutch food company Vion has announced plans to halt the slaughter of pigs at its Altenburg pork and beef processing plant in Germany.

The company will cease its pig slaughter operations from the first quarter of next year and focus on cattle to expand its presence in the beef market.

This decision will see a reduction in its staff by around 110 employees. Vion stated that it has already informed its employees and their representatives, and initiated discussions for a redundancy package.

Vion’s Altenburg site supplies pork products to eastern Germany. This move is in response to declining pig production in the region. However, the demand for beef products in the region is reported to have shown potential for growth. This is primarily attributed to the high density of cattle in eastern Germany.

The Altenberg site is reportedly the only beef processing facility in eastern Germany.

By further expanding its capacity, Vion anticipates that it will be able to reduce transport times of cattle from the producer to the meat processing plant.

The company has also announced management changes in its food service business unit that includes the Salomon FoodWorld and FVZ Convenience brands.

Vion Food Service COO Bernd Stark has announced his retirement in 2020 and will be replaced by Simon Morris. Stark has agreed to bolster Vion’s strategic leadership team by further developing innovation management, strategic customer management, and commercial management at Vion at the management board’s request.