Zur-Mühlen Group Dissen plant closure and 230 job losses, Digi Mart USA News (Dissen/Loxten, Germany): Germany’s largest sausage manufacturer, Zur-Mühlen Group (ZMG), is closing one of its plants, eliminating 230 jobs. Production is being relocated, and affected employees have been presented with an offer that places them in a difficult decision.
The workforce affected is located in Dissen, in the German state of Lower Saxony. Sausage products will in future be produced about nine kilometers away in Versmold-Loxten, North Rhine-Westphalia, a facility located directly across the state border.
According to the company, all 230 employees will have the opportunity to continue working at The Family Butchers, which also belongs to ZMG.
“The works council and the employer have already agreed that employees will be employed there under their existing working conditions, particularly taking into account their length of service,” a spokesperson for the sausage maker told BILD.
In Versmold-Loxten, the workforce would grow from about 650 to roughly 880 employees as production is consolidated there. “At present, we therefore expect that the majority of the workforce will accept the offer,” the spokesperson said.
According to ZMG, the decision is also driven by mounting pressure on Germany’s meat and sausage industry over several years. The company says sales volumes are stagnating or declining while costs for wages, energy and logistics are rising.
“More and more international providers with lower costs are pushing into the German market,” the spokesperson said.
According to the company, the Dissen site would require significant investment for maintenance, but these expenses would not pay off “in the medium and long term due to market conditions.” In addition, the plant is located in the middle of a residential area. At the same time, the Versmold-Loxten site is not sufficiently utilized.
By combining operations, the sausage maker aims to address two problems at once: Dissen will be closed, and capacity utilization in Loxten is expected to rise. Both plants already produce similar goods.
Loxten also manufactures products under the Schulte brand for specialist wholesalers, as well as salami.
The roots of the family business date back to 1889. After nearly 75 years, the traditional family company is fighting for survival.
Earlier, in February, production at Eberswalder Wurstwerke in Britz, Brandenburg, ended after almost 50 years, eliminating around 500 jobs. Eberswalder Wurstwerke also belongs to ZMG, which is part of Premium Food Group (formerly Tönnies).
