240 People Fear for Their Jobs

Frozen Food Giant to Close Plant in Groß-Enzersdorf

(Bild: AP/ARDO AUSTRIA FROST/FABIAN VOLF)

The frozen food producer Ardo Austria Frost GmbH will close its production and packaging plant in Groß-Enzersdorf, Lower Austria, in 2027. This will affect 190 employees, for whom a severance plan is being developed, as the company announced in a press release on Thursday. In addition, 50 temporary workers are affected.

The plant is “getting on in years” and would require “significant investments in production, packaging, warehousing, and utility infrastructure,” the company stated.

“Given the distance from the Western European market and the limited cost competitiveness compared to Central and Eastern European countries, the Austrian production site can only be justified for the domestic market,” the press release further noted. However, the necessary investments are “substantial” and too large for a “relatively small domestic market.”

Sales operations will be managed from a new location in the Vienna area in the future
Employees in sales and internal sales are not expected to be affected by the closure. According to Ardo, they will likely be able to work from a new, yet-to-be-determined location in the Vienna area in the future.

Plant to continue operations through the end of the year
According to the plan, business operations in Groß-Enzersdorf will continue in vegetable production through December 2026. Starting in August 2027, Ardo intends to focus on sales in Austria, with vegetables to be supplied from other plants. Christian Karwen, plant manager at Ardo Austria Frost GmbH, emphasized in the press release that a social plan for the 190 Ardo employees is being developed in collaboration with the works council. This plan is intended to take social criteria into account and support “the intended gradual phase-out of operations here in Austria.”