Agrana Closes Sugar Factories: 270 Employees Affected

This decision was made by the Agrana supervisory board in its meeting today, the company unexpectedly announced on Wednesday. The closure affects around 120 employees in Leopoldsdorf and about 150 in Hrušovany.

The decision to close two production sites was "difficult but necessary," said Agrana CEO Stephan Büttner in a statement. This measure is "an important part of the strategic realignment of the company, aimed at achieving long-term stabilization and competitiveness of domestic sugar production." Rising production costs, increasing competitive pressure due to the decline in sugar consumption in the EU, market liberalizations, and regulatory requirements have made the continuation of production at two sites each in Austria and the Czech Republic "economically untenable," explained Agrana.

Agrana Sugar Production in the Future Only at the Tulln Site

In Austria, all Agrana sugar production will in the future take place only at the Tulln site, and in the Czech Republic only at the Opava site. The sugar factory in Leopoldsdorf had already been on the brink of closure in the past due to insufficient beet quantities. In the fall of 2020, Agrana, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the beet farmers announced a "sugar pact" to secure the factory in Leopoldsdorf. To fully utilize the factories in Tulln and Leopoldsdorf, the company requires, according to information from May of the previous year, a sugar beet cultivation area of 38,000 hectares. At that time, Büttner had emphasized, in relation to the corporate strategy then being developed, that Leopoldsdorf was "not up for discussion."

The plant was built in 1901 and 1902 as a raw sugar factory. In 1925, it was converted into a white sugar factory. From Leopoldsdorf, sugar was delivered mainly to the processing industry in bulk and packaged form. The Agrana site in Leopoldsdorf is to remain as a logistics hub.

Support for Affected Employees Announced

For the 270 employees affected by the plant closures, the sugar company plans to provide "extensive support measures." These include retraining and qualification programs, opportunities to take up positions at other Agrana sites, as well as individual severance packages and career counseling for professional reorientation.

"The closure of Leopoldsdorf is a massive cut for domestic agriculture," said the President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, Johannes Schmuckenschlager, in a statement. The beet farmers now face "significant challenges, both economically and in terms of their long-term planning security." The head of the SPÖ Lower Austria, Sven Hergovich, called on the state government of ÖVP and FPÖ to preserve the industrial area in Leopoldsdorf. The FPÖ Lower Austria saw the closure as "another declaration of bankruptcy of the ÖVP's economic policy."

Because, among other things, Ukrainian sugar is entering Agrana's sales markets, it is "currently not possible to sell the sugar produced in Austria beyond domestic needs in these regions, as was the case in the past," explained the association "The Beet Farmers." Therefore, Agrana has "drastically reduced" the beet areas for cultivation in 2025. "Apparently, our domestic sugar company sees no prospect of market improvement in its eastern markets," said the beet farmers' association. The common goal with Agrana remains "to continue ensuring self-sufficiency with domestic sugar from Austrian sugar beets," said association president Ernst Karpfinger. Through the nationwide association, the beet farmers hold nearly 15 percent of Agrana.

(APA/Red)

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