International players close beer and food production units

Some 3,000 people have been laid off following these closures. “Former employees have found new jobs in production. They were absorbed by other companies in their same region, given that most lay-offs were in cities with several foreign investments,” said the General Manager of Manpower Romania recruiting company, Camelia Stanciulescu.

Several multinational companies, including Heineken, Bunge, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Friesland Foods entered Romania by acquiring several local producers, “to gain market share and reduce competition. After several years, they closed those units,” the President of the Food Industry Union Federation (FSIA), Dragos Frumosu, told Business Standard.

In the beer industry, Dutch producer Heineken closed three production units in the past few years. It recently acquired Bere Mures, one of the most important local producers, to consolidate its market leader position.

Belgian group InBev also closed one production unit, to optimize production, as did Ursus Breweries.

The local beer market exceeds €1 billion and is controlled by multinational producers Heineken, InBev, Ursus Breweries and URB.

The edible oil industry is also controlled by international companies, with U.S.-based Bunge and Cargill as main players. Bunge closed three units it had acquired in Romania and relocated production to both other factories in the country and to Hungary.