Union Leaders To Attend Talks In Vienna Over Kraft’s Romanian Chocolate Factory

"On November 24, there will be a meeting in Vienna of representatives of Kraft’s units in the European Union, to discuss the problems of the Romanian factory. But the decisions won’t be made there, all decisions will be made in Brasov," union leader Raluca Coltea told MEDIAFAX.

 

Kraft Foods Romania said last week it will shut down its chocolate factory in Brasov and will relocate activity to other units. The unit in Brasov is the only one Kraft owns in Romania, and has about 440 employees.

 

"The shutdown has nothing to do with the international crisis. Sales increased a lot in Romania in recent years and we needed to up our production capacity, but possibilities in Brasov were limited in terms of space, as the factory is in the city center and expansion was not an option, so we decided to up production in other factories the group owns,” Doina Cavache, corporate affairs manager at Kraft Foods Romania, told MEDIAFAX last week.

 

She added production will be relocated gradually, until the end of next year, including in the groups’ factory in Bulgaria.

 

The company entered the Romanian market in 1994, when Kraft Foods International bought the local candy factory in Brasov, Poiana Produse Zaharoase.

 

Kraft Foods has annual revenues exceeding $37 billion, and employs over 100,000 people in 180 production units worldwide.