Danone said it plans to shut plants in Italy, Germany and Hungary, eliminating 325 jobs, because of a drop in fresh dairy sales in Europe.

The planned closures, along with a gradual shift in production volumes to Belgium, Poland, Germany and France, should allow the fresh dairy products division to be more competitive in Europe, Danone said yesterday in a statement.

The project will be fully implemented by mid-2015.

“Since 2010, a lasting downturn in the European economy and consumer spending has led to a significant decline in sales in this region,” Danone said.

“While European sales volumes now show signs of gradual improvement, the group’s fresh dairy products division in Europe has seen overall business fall back, with local cases of surplus capacity.” – (Bloomberg)