The employees of the Ferrero plant in Arlon have many questions about their short-term future. On Friday, the federal food agency (FAVV) withdrew the production license for the site due to 100 cases of salmonella contamination in Europe in recent weeks. So far, the staff has received few answers, according to a meeting Saturday between management and the unions.
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For the week from Monday 11 April, the decision of the FASFC does not change the situation, as a week of leave had been planned for the staff for a long time. ‘Maintenance and cleaning work are planned from 19 April. Part of the staff is needed for this, but we do not yet know how many employees are involved. That is why we asked the management for a work plan’, says Sylviane Arnould (ACV Nutrition).
After that, everything will depend on the date of reopening of the Arlon factory. The FASFC indicated that it will only grant permission for reopening after the agency has been able to determine that the factory meets all food safety rules and requirements.
“The company assures us that it is doing everything it can to restart quickly, but the employees will have to be patient. There will probably be temporary unemployment for some of the staff, which will mean financial loss for the workers involved,” said Sylviane Arnould.
The unions have also asked management to improve communication with staff. The unions called for a new information meeting next week. A date has not yet been announced.
According to Ferrero’s website, the Arlon factory, which opened in 1989, employs 725 people. At seasonal peaks, this can rise to 1,100. The eight production lines produce nearly 18 million Kinder Schoko-Bons, two million Kinder Surprises and four million Raffaellos every day. Almost all of the production (96 percent) is exported to 45 countries around the world.
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