The beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola plans to close five production and logistics locations in Germany over the next year. The plants in Cologne, Neumünster, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, Bielefeld and Memmingen are affected, according to a statement from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP). The company is responsible for bottling, selling and distributing the US group’s drinks in Germany.

A total of 505 jobs will be lost, 207 will be relocated to other locations and 78 new jobs will be created. The aim is to “position ourselves even more cost-efficiently in the persistently competitive market environment, address the changes in beverage logistics and further strengthen utilization in the German production and logistics network,” explained CCEP.

In Cologne, where Coca-Cola operates a production and logistics site and currently employs around 600 people, production is scheduled to cease on March 31, 2025. With four companies, the location density in the west is very high, it was said. With two production lines, Cologne is also the smallest company, and there was a lack of expansion and growth opportunities. The closure is intended to increase capacity utilization at the other locations and make production more efficient. In the other four cities affected by the closures, the beverage manufacturer only has logistics facilities.

“Painful for the affected employees”

“We are aware that the planned changes are very painful for the employees affected. “It is all the more important for us to implement all intended changes in a socially responsible and transparent manner,” said the Managing Director of Customer Service & Supply Chain at CCEP, Tilmann Rothhammer.

The step is also justified by a change in beverage logistics. Large trading partners are increasingly switching from direct delivery to delivery via the central warehouse, while smaller customers are increasingly ordering via beverage wholesalers. As a result, the number of direct customers and orders as well as the outgoing warehouse volume at the logistics locations would decrease significantly.

According to its own information, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is the largest beverage company in Germany and employs around 6,500 people at 27 locations, 14 of which are production plants.