News that paper design company Sappi is to close its plant in Lanaken early next year has sent shock waves through the small Limburg town, located just across the border from the Dutch city of Maastricht.
“This is a black day for the town,” Lanneken Mayor Marino Keulen commented after Sappi's management told staff and unions on Tuesday that it would close its doors in the first quarter of 2024, causing some 550 jobs to disappear.
Sappi’s central services across the border in Maastricht would also be affected, management said.
Over the past few months, workers at the plant had already experienced periodic bouts of temporary unemployment, but staff representatives had not expected Tuesday's announcement.
“The news comes as a bombshell. The entire workforce is affected, so emotions are running high,” commented Jan Staal, secretary of the ABVV/FGTB union.
The Sappi management said its decision stemmed in particular from an increasingly tense market as well as a strategic error in the choice to increase its prices, which pushed customers into the arms of its competitors.
“It’s now time for negotiations,” said Staal. “Management has said it wants a real redundancy plan, and we’ll see what they mean by that.”
Paper production at the site came to a complete standstill following the announcement.
Sappi is the biggest employer in Lanaken, a town of about 25,000 inhabitants. “Many of the people who work at Sappi also live in Lanaken,” said Mayor Keulen. “Our thoughts are with all the workers and families affected.”
Keulen said Sappi’s management intended to conclude a solid social agreement with the unions by Christmas.
“It also plans to sell the warehouses to enable new economic activity on the site,” he added.
