The soft drinks company is closing five production and logistics centers in Germany, in an attempt to reduce costs and adapt to changing logistics trends.
Coca-Cola cuts 500 jobs in Germany with the closure of five production plants
The group Coke (CCEP) has announced a significant restructuring of its workforce in Germany, which includes the elimination of around 500 jobs throughout the next year. This adjustment is carried out with the closure of five logistics and production facilities located in Neumünster, Bielefeld, Berlin, Memmingen and Cologne.
Currently, CCEP operates 14 factories in the country and approximately 6,500 employees. Coca Cola’s decision responds to the need to optimize costs in an environment of increasing competition and to changes in the logistics of the beverage sector. The company seeks to more efficiently use its production and logistics capacity in Germany, given that it has an excess of plants in the western region of the country.
How many workers does Coca Cola plan to lay off?
In addition to plant closures, it is expected that approximately 505 jobs are affectedalthough around 207 of these will be relocated to other facilities, while it is estimated that 78 new jobs will be created.
Tilmann Rothhammerspokesperson for CCEP, told the German newspaper ‘Spiegel’: “We are aware that the planned changes are very painful for the affected employees. Therefore, it is even more important for us to implement all modifications in a manner responsible and transparent”.
The logistics and production plant Coloniawhich currently has about 600 employeeswill cease production on March 31 of next year. The main reason for its closure is that it is the smallest facility in western Germanywith few prospects for growth or expansion.
This movement by CCEP comes in a global context of changes in the beverage sector, where a shift towards delivery from a central warehouseinstead of making direct deliveries from individual logistics locations. This trend has led many companies to consolidate your operations and use your facilities more efficiently.
Investment in clean energy
In addition, Coca Cola has recently revealed its investment in Pipeline Organics, a green technology startup that promises to contribute renewable energy to company processes. This initiative is based on the use of wastewater to generate clean electricity, which can be used in production lines and in lighting CCEP plants.
Nicola Tongueassociate director of CCEP, said in a statement: “Renewable energy is fundamental to our path to decarbonization and the possibility of generating it ‘in situ’, using existing infrastructure and byproducts, is incredibly exciting.”
“We look forward to working with Pipeline Organics as they move towards the next phase of their developmentas we move towards our goal of using 100% renewable electricity in all our markets by 2030,” reads the text.
Arielle Torres, co-founder and CEO of Pipeline Organics, said that “volatile energy prices, inefficient distribution networks, Deteriorating infrastructure and unreliable supply chains “are generating enormous problems for industries worldwide.”
“Current renewable energy technologies they are not effective enoughand we urgently need more innovative energy solutions fit for the future. Our technology has the potential to rsolve many of these challenges by providing clean and cost-effective renewable electricity 24 hours a day, stabilizing energy access and operating costs without sacrificing sustainability,” he added.