Salmon processor Delpierre to close its Wisches factory in Alsace, northeastern France.
France 3 reports that on Monday, management of the factory Delpierre Wisches told employees that the site is to permantly close.
Delpierre – which is owned by one of Europe’s largest smoked salmon producers Labeyrie Fine Foods – said it was is in the process of restructuring and that production of its high end smoked salmon range at Wisches will be transferred to the other two factories in the group. The site has 150 workers but employed up to 300 during busy seasons.
The site opened in 1989 but in 2015 employees had to accept a wage freeze to in an effort save EUR 800,000 to maintain the plant and jobs after a couple of loss-making years. In 2016, Delpierre even invested EUR 4 million into the struggling processing plant.
Wisches mayor Alain Ferry told L’Alsaces that he was shocked “by the brutality” of the announcement. Locally elected officials are meeting with Delpierre management on Tuesday to discuss a recovery plan for workers.
Last year, SalmonBusiness reported that another Delpierre factory in the Northern France fishing port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, that manufactures 350 tonnes of sushi per year for its branded “Comptoir sushis” range reduced its workforce from forty employees to twelve.
