There is astonishment in Château-Thierry (Aisne).
The Mondelez group has announced the scheduled closure by the end of 2025 of the Lu factory specializing in the production of filled and chocolate biscuits, such as the famous Pépito.
Located in the city center, production at Château-Thierry would cost on average twice as much as at other sites in the rest of Europe, with no prospect of improvement.
The factory (formerly the Belin factory, bought by LU and now part of the Mondelez group) employs around sixty employees and has been in gradual decline since the 1990s.
On site, the news is all the more difficult to swallow as the site considered “ancestral” had up to 1,200 employees: “Another company that is closing,” denounces Ludovic Desoeuvres, who runs the bakery-pastry shop La Fournée des Fables, with 13 employees.
I have employees and former employees as clients.
Everyone says it's a waste.
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An obligation to revitalize the territory
A day of strike is planned for February 16: “This announcement is the exact opposite of what was indicated by the Director General France a year ago.
Coming to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the site, she reaffirmed continued activity and continued investment,” protests Sébastien Eugène, the mayor of Château-Thierry.
Also read Behind the scenes of one of the last biscuit factories in Ile-de-France
For his part, Thomas Campeaux, prefect of Aisne, regrets the consequences of this decision for the territory of southern Aisne and will be attentive to ensuring that all the individual situations of employees are taken into account during the negotiation. of the future job protection plan which will be launched by the company.
If no buyer comes forward, it will study the possibility of subjecting the company to obligations to revitalize the territory.