Bitter end for sugar plants?

The Hellenic Sugar Industry on Tuesday decided to temporarily shut down two of its three factories, at Orestiada and Serres, following a three-hour meeting of its governing board during which a sustainability report by Kantor consultants was discussed and accepted.

A number of the employees at the two factories will be transferred to cover the needs of the only factory that will remain open, at Platy Imathias, close to Veria. Some workers will be employed in maintenance projects while others will be given the option of joining a voluntary exit program.

Employees expressed major opposition to the latter, arguing that shutting the factories down on a temporary basis does not justify a voluntary exit program, while speaking of the deindustrialization of the two regions in Serres and Evros.

Meanwhile the company’s main creditor, Piraeus Bank, is in favor of the two factories grinding to a halt so as to cut the company’s operating costs.