RESHORING CASE

Continental Foods

Company details
Code: 
ContinentalFoods
Company name: 
Continental Foods
Company country: 
Belgium
Number of employees: 
1300
Sector: 
C - Manufacturing
Sector detail: 
C10 - Manufacture of food products
Reshoring details
Reshoring announcement date: 
14/03/2014
Starting implementation date: 
March, 2014
End of Implementation : 
December, 2014
Reshored to: 
Belgium
Location of affected unit(s): 
Puurs
Location code: 
BE212
Reshored business function: 
Production
Partial or Total reshoring: 
Total
Reshoring governance mode: 
In house (in own facilities)
Estimated job gains: 
15
Reasons for reshoring: 
Automation of production process
Economic crisis
Know-how in the home country
Unattractiveness of the offshore market
Untapped production capacity
Reshoring ERM database code: 
continental-foods
Case narrative: 

Food producer Continental Foods (formerly Campbells) is to close its site in Kristianstad, resulting in the loss of 110 jobs. The company intends to move production of dry products to Belgium with the loss of 69 jobs. Another 40 jobs will be lost as a result of the outsourcing of the logistics management to another firm and relocation of the sales and support functions to Lund, Sweden. 

Employees were not expecting this announcement. The reasons given for the closure were the low volumes produced at the site - which was operating at 15% of capacity according to the company - and a drop in demand for dried soups, sauces and desserts.

Trade union negotiations are to commence within a week. The relocation will take place by the end of the year.

Continental Foods bought European activities from Campbell soups in 2013.

Sources: 

Kristianstadsbladet, 14/03/2014

Food Supply, 17/03/2014

Offshoring details
Offshoring date: 
2001
Offshoring location: 
Sweden
Offshoring entry mode: 
Wholly owned
Reason for offshoring: 
Merger and Acquisition