Vetropack under pressure

Consumption slump threatens jobs at bottle manufacturer

Vetropack's Kremsmünster plant produces beer bottles, among other things.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

As a producer of glass packaging, Vetropack is a big player: used glass is melted down and processed into new bottles and jars, which are later filled with beer, mineral water, milk, jams and the like. However, the drop in consumption is forcing the company to reduce its production capacity. This is causing trepidation - in Kremsmünster too.

"We can already see that 2024 will follow on seamlessly from the weak second half of the previous year; we will focus on cutting costs; investments already planned in our plants will be postponed as far as possible" - all this is stated in the letter from the Board of Directors published on the Vetropack website.

Just how much pressure the glass packaging manufacturer is under is shown by the fact that Vetropack is not only considering closing its main plant in Switzerland, but is also considering reducing production in Kremsmünster.

We will have to continue to monitor market developments very closely in order to react quickly to any changes. We are already doing both of these things with the cost savings already mentioned and by taking capacity off the market. Further immediate adjustments to the changing market situation are conceivable.

Johann Reiter, Vorstandschef der Vetropack-Gruppe

More bottles and co. are currently being produced than needed
The reason for this is a decline in demand for green and colored glass, triggered in turn by inflation and general uncertainty, which is depressing people's willingness to consume, which is why beverage and food manufacturers need less glass packaging. As a result, significantly more bottles and the like are being produced than are needed.

323 employees at the plant in Kremsmünster
What exactly is being considered in Kremsmünster? The temporary closure of one of the three furnaces, specifically the one known as F32. "Accordingly, job cuts are also being discussed," says the company, which has a total of 323 employees at the site in Upper Austria.

The employees have been informed about the difficult situation and possible consequences. The extent to which there will be job cuts is currently being determined. "Where possible, we want to avoid layoffs," it says. Vetropack had already repeatedly adjusted capacities throughout the Group in the previous year: Hundreds of production line downtime days were the result.