"The goal is for production to resume as soon as possible," the spokesperson told AFP.
"We have no duration (...), we hope that it (the shutdown of the factories, editor's note) will not exceed a month", he continued.
Announcing the measures taken at the beginning of December to "deal with the spectacular rise in energy costs", the group's president Mathieu Thomazeau argued to AFP that the company could "no longer suffer waves of inflation which ended up overwhelming (her).
Cofigeo has shut down its factories in Pouilly-sur-Serre (Aisne), Lagny-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne), Capdenac (Aveyron) and Camaret-sur-Aigues (Vaucluse), which supply 80% of its production and employ 800 employees, out of 1,200.
To this end, a long-term partial activity agreement (APLD) has been signed with the representative unions.
The gas and electricity bill needed to cook and sterilize ready meals increased tenfold last year, an increase which comes on top of the increase in the prices of the raw materials used - notably beef, pork and tomatoes-, packaging and transportation, depending on management.
"There is no risk of shortage", the group having built up stocks, assured the spokesperson, recalling that its "products can be kept between two and three years".
© 2023 AFP