Danish Crown says it is to axe some 600 jobs after DI and the NNF union were unable to agree on wage levels.

Danish Crown had demanded a zero regulation in order to secure its DC Future plan. It has now decided on its Plan B.

“In a short, we will have to say goodbye to the first 600 or so employees at the slaughterhouses. It is unfortunate that they have not understood how serious the situation is. We simply have to reach the targets we have promised the owners,” says Danish Crown CEO Kjeld Johannesen.

Danish Crown says that prior to the first meeting with the mediator, Danish Crown management and shop stewards held an extraordinary meeting at which there appeared to be agreement on zero regulation from 2010 to 2012 and a starting wage for new employees.

Danish Crown says that the NNF union has ignored a declaration of intent from a large majority of its members.

“We and the shop stewards had told our owners and employees that we together would find a solution that takes us as close as possible to the targets in DC Future. This happened most recently at the supervisory board meeting at the beginning of February at which all shop stewards were present,” Johannesen says.

“So I am both surprised and dismayed that the NNF union has not listened to its members,” he adds.