FAZER announced two rounds of consultative negotiations in as many days earlier this week.
On Wednesday, the Finnish food industry giant said it is mulling over terminating up to 54 production and white-collar jobs at its bakery in Lahti, Finland. The terminations are necessitated by the decrease in production lines and worker demand stemming from its plan to build an energy-efficient bread line at the bakery.
The line would not only enable the growth of the baking capacity, but also significantly reduce total energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions at the bakery. The negotiations will concern a total of 218 employees and some salaried employees working in Lahti.
The possible cuts are to be carried out in phases between 2023 and 2025.
Fazer said it will seek to limit the number of lay-offs by offering as many employees as possible the opportunity to transfer to other duties as an alternative to termination.
The announcement came only a day after the food company revealed that it is launching consultative negotiations with around 660 employees in its shop-in-shop bakery business. The negotiations could result in as many as 96 terminations if the employer and employees fail to reach an agreement on new employment terms.
Fazer said it opened 13 new shop-in-shop bakeries during the course of last year, bringing the total to 131.
“Consumer purchasing behaviour has changed as a result of inflation, the uncertain world situation and increased energy and raw material costs. Consumers are more cautious when shopping and often choose affordable products to their shopping carts,” it stated, explaining the need to review its operating methods.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
