In view of the problematic economic situation of the Bamberg slaughterhouse, the supervisory board recommended ceasing business operations on Friday. This was announced by a spokesman for the city administration. It was said that there was no viable prospect of continuing operations. According to Mayor Andreas Starke (SPD), who is also chairman of the slaughterhouse’s supervisory board, the committee determined that the city council “must draw the inevitable consequences” at its general meeting on March 20th.
At the beginning of March, the city administration announced that the decision on the future of the slaughterhouse, which was actually planned for June, should be brought forward because the company’s economic situation had deteriorated significantly in the past two months.
According to the city, a major customer delivers fewer animals for slaughter, resulting in a lack of 350 cattle per week for an economic operation. The slaughterhouse therefore runs a weekly deficit of 40,000 euros. “Because of the existing infrastructure and the high conversion costs, downsizing would not be effective either,” said managing director Julian Müller to the German Press Agency.
165 employees are affected by the closure. Managing director Müller promised a responsible and sensitive approach to the interests of the workforce, and the supervisory board emphasized that it wanted to examine and support alternative employment opportunities. It is still unclear when exactly the municipal slaughterhouse will stop operations.