Tetra Pak plans closure of only Swiss plant

The company announced on Tuesday a plan to close the plant in Romont in the canton of Fribourg by September 2016.

The plant, operating for around 30 years, is to be put up for sale under the plan.

Employees were informed of the decision on Tuesday morning.

However, Tetra Pak said that no definitive decision would be made on the plant closure until January after a consultation process with employees.

If the plan goes ahead, the company plans to transfer the production capacity to its other sites in Europe .

Tetra Pak said it hoped through this measure to improve the efficiency of its operations, reduce costs and strengthen its competitiveness.

The Romont plant is profitable “but we can be more competitive by concentrating our activities in other sites,” Eric Schmid, Tetra Pak’s vice-president of commercial management, told Swiss TV broadcaster RTS.

A union official expressed surprise at the announcement, which came without warning, saying that the plant should be allowed to continue to operate, RTS reported.

Founded in Sweden and privately owned by the Swedish Rausing family through a Swiss holding company, Tetra Pak has grown into a multinational company headquartered in Pully, near Lausanne in the canton of Vaud.

Most of its production is outside Switzerland and the company has retained its research and development operations in Lund, Sweden.

Globally, the company employs more than 23,000 people and generates annual revenues of around €11 billion.