Sugar production at a factory in Trenčianska Teplá in western Slovakia will be phased out, leading to job losses for more than 90 workers, the company announced on Thursday, The Slovak Spectator reported.
The plant is operated by Považský cukor and owned by Germany-based Nordzucker AG. It will stop processing sugar beet once the current production cycle ends in mid-March. Some employees are expected to leave as early as Friday, while collective redundancies are set to be confirmed later in March.
Company chairman Michal Abelovič said the move was prompted by falling profitability, as climate change has reduced crop yields and increased disease risks for sugar beet. Rising production expenses and decarbonisation requirements have further strained operations.
Data from Finstat shows that Považský cukor’s revenues have grown in recent years, reaching about €141 million in 2022, roughly €157 million in 2023, and approximately €163 million in 2024. Despite this growth, the company reported a loss of more than €26 million in 2024 after several profitable years.
Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč said he would meet company executives on Friday to seek clarity on the decision and examine whether it could still be reversed. He cautioned that the shutdown would weaken Slovakia’s sugar self-sufficiency, as the Trenčianska Teplá facility is one of only two sugar producers in the country.
Farmers’ organisations criticised the decision, pointing out that last year’s harvest was among the strongest on record. The Slovak Agricultural and Food Chamber (SPPK) noted that the factory, founded in 1901 by the Wolf family from Vienna, had survived even the two world wars.
Slovakia once had 41 sugar factories, with ten still operating in 1989. Today, only two remain — in Trenčianska Teplá and Sereď in southwestern Slovakia.
The company said the site will continue to operate as a commercial and logistics hub after production ends. Meanwhile, Nordzucker AG has concentrated sugar production at its Örtofta facility in Sweden and consolidated liquid sugar output in Germany.
Over the past two years, five sugar factories across Europe — in Spain, France, Austria, and the Czech Republic — have closed due to pressure from low-cost imports from Ukraine and Mercosur countries, declining sugar consumption, and rising production costs such as energy and labour. According to Index, sugar producers are also the only companies in the food sector required to pay emissions permits, further increasing expenses.
