Nestlé Waters will cut a quarter of jobs at its Vittel site in the Vosges

Nestlé Waters announced on Tuesday the elimination “by the end of the year” of 171 positions on its Vosges site, or a quarter of the 721 jobs, a measure essentially motivated by the decision taken in 2022 to stop the sale of its Vittel water in Germany. The project, announced Tuesday to the social partners, “is both industrial, organizational and social”, and aims to maintain the competitiveness of the site, a spokeswoman for the group told AFP. It “would lead to the reconfiguration of our production lines” in Vittel-Contrexéville, where 721 people currently work, “with a net impact of 171 job cuts by the end of the year”, she said. added.

This reorganization project “is essentially motivated by the decision taken in 2022 to stop the marketing of Vittel in Germany”, which led to “a significant reduction in the volumes produced” in the Vosges, she argued, assuring that Nestlé Waters “sought for several months solutions to minimize the impact”. Another cause, according to her: “the company is confronted today, like the rest of the industry, with climatic conditions (…) which affect the operating conditions” of the waters of certain boreholes.

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Climatic hazards

At the beginning of May, due to the vagaries of the weather, Nestlé Waters had announced the sine die suspension of two of the six boreholes dedicated to Hépar water on its Vosges site. Added to the cessation of sales across the Rhine, this suspension “amplifies a little more the drop in volumes produced on the site”, she explained. “Our priority (…) is above all” to support the employees “throughout the process” and Nestlé Waters “will do everything possible to minimize the social consequences of this project”, insisted the spokesperson.

“We are going to promote social dialogue to enable us to identify and propose the best possible support solutions” by limiting “forced departures as much as possible” and “by proposing end-of-career development solutions” and “of internal mobility,” she said. “We are aware of our major role (…) in the region. We will continue to get involved in the economic and social fabric, in collaboration with local authorities to minimize the impact on the employment area, in particular through a revitalization program, ”she added, without being able to give details immediately.