Dairy cooperative Milcobel announced on Friday at a works council its intention to close the Drinks department in Schoten, Antwerp. As a result, 167 jobs are at risk.
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Milcobel makes all kinds of milk drinks in Schoten, such as regular milk and chocolate milk. This is done under well-known brands such as Inza, Choco! Choco! or Yogho! Yogho !.
But the largest dairy cooperative in the country wants to stop that. As a result, 167 jobs are at risk: 162 in Schoten and 5 at the support services in Bruges.
‘Less and less milk is consumed. Over the past ten years, the market has dropped three percent annually. The margins on milk are also very low or even negative, ‘explains spokeswoman Kathleen De Smedt. Moreover, the factory in Schoten is very outdated, which would require major investments.
That is why the company intends to close the site in Schoten. That would mean that Milcobel no longer makes its own milk drink. Inza has been producing milk since 1946, first in Borgerhout, later in Schoten.
Whether the closure also means that the milk brands will disappear is not yet clear. The sale of milk in glass packaging, which is commercialized under the Inza brand and is not made in Schoten, is already outside the scope of the letter of intent.
Largest dairy cooperative
Milcobel is the largest dairy cooperative in the country: 40 percent of Belgian dairy farmers are members. In addition to the site in Schoten, Milcobel has production facilities in Langemark (mozzarella and ice cream), Moorslede (cheese), Bruges (cutting and packaging of cheese), Kallo (milk powder) and Argentan (ice cream) in France. 2,000 people work for the dairy cooperative.
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