The dairy product processor Cremo will close its site in Lucens (VD) by the end of 2023 and transfer its activities to the factory in Villars-sur-Glâne (FR). If some employees will be offered to work on the Friborg site, the operation will still result in a dozen layoffs.
Several factors explain this decision, first and foremost a situation of structural overcapacity of the installations, explained Thomas Zwald, general secretary of Cremo. “For the past few years, we have observed a decline in the supply of industrial milk,” he explained. Cremo has also lost a major customer who purchased most of the raclette cheese production from the Lucens site.
Added to this is the jump in gas prices, of which Cremo is a major consumer. This restructuring must thus allow optimizations by grouping the activities in Friborg land, explains the company on Wednesday in a press release.
A dozen layoffs
Cremo currently employs 38 people at Lucens, said Thomas Zwald. Some of them will be offered positions on other company sites, mainly in Villars-sur-Glâne. “It will be difficult to avoid layoffs,” the statement said. These should concern ten people, confirmed the secretary general.
The future of the site will be under review over the next few months, Cremo said. In 2021, Cremo had already closed its site in Steffisburg (BE).
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