Kraft prepares to shut down Brasov plant

The Kraft Foods plant in Brasov suspended production at the end of last week, with the American company announcing that another 220 employees in Romania would be made redundant as of January 2010. Most production lines have been transferred to Bulgaria, where Poiana chocolate, Kraft's strongest Romanian brand, is currently manufactured. Kraft's decision to close the Brasov plant, which was announced in late 2008, resulted in 440 employees being laid off. 67 of them have found a job with Romanian producer Rap Confectionery in Brasov, a former services provider of Kraft, which rented a production line from the American company. Rap Confectionery, held by businessman Radu Popeia, currently operates at the Kraft Foods plant in Brasov, but the company could open its own production facility in 2010. At present, Rap produces only Kraft brands, Smash and Chokotoff. "The 220 employees who will no longer work for Kraft Foods starting in January will be offered the same severance pay as that given to the other employees," said Doina Cavache, Corporate Affairs Manager of Kraft Foods Romania. The costs of this restructuring have not been released by the company, but they can be put at over 1.2 billion euros, considering that each employee will receive a severance pay amounting to at least 11 monthly salaries, and that the average wage in the factory amounts to 250 euros.