It’s official. The giant Nestlé announced on Thursday the definitive closure of the Buitoni factory in Caudry for 140 employees. This factory had been implicated in the scandal of frozen pizzas with raw dough from the Fraîch’Up range, which could have caused the death of two children and the poisoning of dozens more by Escherichia coli bacteria.
The factory’s activity had already been suspended in March due, according to Nestlé, to a drop in sales.
“Layoffs will not be communicated before December 31, 2023,” specifies the group, which “commits in parallel to launching a process to search for a solid and lasting recovery solution for the factory” and to offer employers 140 employees “an internal outplacement opportunity.” “.
“I regret that Nestlé has not found a solution,” but this is not “the end of the story” for the site, the Deputy Minister for Industry, Roland Lescure, reacted to AFP.
“Nestlé is committed to looking for a buyer, I consider that there is an obligation of result,” he insisted.
The group also announced an exceptional contribution of 3 million euros in favor of employment in the territory of Cambraisis, doubling the contribution promised by the State, it noted.
“Finding work in the area is difficult,” lamented Stéphane Derammelaere, a representative of Force Ouvrière, on Thursday, evoking many employees over 50 and married couples whose two members are Buitoni employees.
140 employees on the floor
“And can you imagine on a resume, ‘Nestlé Buitoni’? Do you think it looks good? The reputation of the factory is not going to help, as long as the employees have nothing to do with it”, she continues.
It all started in February 2022, when Public Health France (SPF) and the Fraud Prevention Department (DGCCRF) were alerted to an increase in cases of kidney failure in children, linked to E. coli contamination.
On March 18, Nestlé recalls its pizzas and closes the two production lines. The prefecture immediately prohibited any activity, the health authorities having established a link between the consumption of pizzas and several serious cases of contamination.
The group presents “contamination of the flour” as the “most likely” explanation for the presence of the bacteria on their pizzas. But other possible causes are mentioned: according to the prefecture, the inspections by the health authorities had revealed “the presence of rodents” and the “lack of maintenance and cleaning of the manufacturing areas” in the factory.
The factory partially reopens in mid-December, after nine months of closure, only the pizza line with cooked dough, not affected by the scandal, is authorized to restart.
But the reopening was short-lived: the group announced at the beginning of March the suspension of activity due to the drop in sales of frozen pizzas, which “has further impacted the Buitoni brand”.
Source: BFM TV
