Nestle Will Close Pizza Plant in France For Good

Nestle announced it plans to close its pizza production plant in Caudry, France. The company had temporarily suspended production at the plant in early March following a food safety incident in 2022.

The plant was the source of a E. coli outbreak in 2022 that was linked to the death of two children and dozens of other illnesses. The company was allowed to restart operations at the plant in December 2022, but it later said it was facing sales forecasts well below the volumes that had been expected. As a result, the company suspended operations on March 3 before opting to close the plant completely.

“With rising inflation and strong pan-European competition in the frozen pizza category, the market is unfortunately no longer at the level we hoped for, and order forecasts have been much lower than expected,” Nestle said. “On March 2, we therefore announced the temporary suspension of production at Caudry to avoid a situation where we produce and then destroy products.

“Following a thorough evaluation of different options for the site and meetings with key stakeholders, on March 30, Nestle France presented a plan to permanently cease manufacturing and sales by the Société des Produits Alimentaires de Caudry (SPAC).”

The company added, “Nestle France has committed to finding opportunities for affected employees, either within other Nestle France entities or in the region, and to working actively to identify a buyer to develop an alternative project for the site. This development does not affect the ongoing operation of Nestle’s pizza business in other markets.”