Cofigeo, the France-based food manufacturer, will halt production at half its factories next month, as it battles a “spectacular increase” in energy prices.
The company, which owns the William Saurin and Garbit brands, said it would pause output at four of its eight plants on 2 January.
Some 800 staff work at the sites but none would lose their jobs, the business insisted. Cofigeo employs 1,200 workers in total.
The manufacturer said its energy bill had risen ten-fold since the start of this year.
“Faced with this inflation, we have already made major efforts in terms of productivity and energy savings but, with an annual energy bill going from EUR4m (US$4.2m) to EUR40m, this decision has become inevitable to protect our company and its employees,” Cofigeo president Mathieu Thomazeau said. “We will continue to look for solutions internally and with our customers to restore our economic balance.”
Jobic de Calan, Cofigeo’s secretary general, confirmed to Just Food the company will halt production at its plant in Lagny-sur-Marne, east of Paris; at another further north in Pouilly-sur-Serre; and at two sites in the south of France in Camaret-sur-Aigues and Capdenac.
The factories manufacture French and Italian ready meals.
Just Food analysis, August 2022: Inflation outlook uncertain as food wrestles with consumer anxiety
