French investment company Financiere de la Croix-Blanche confirmed on 12 July 2006 the conditions of its offer for Verrerie du Languedoc (VDL), the glass bottle manufacturer at Vergeze in south-easter…
French investment company Financiere de la Croix-Blanche confirmed on 12 July 2006 the conditions of its offer for Verrerie du Languedoc (VDL), the glass bottle manufacturer at Vergeze in south-eastern France put up for sale by Swiss food giant Nestle. Nestle Waters France is bottling a growing proportion of its products, including the world famous Perrier, in plastic bottles. It has been seeking a buyer for VDL since 1997. Financiere de la Croix-Blanche intends to make 300 of the 470-strong workforce at the Vergeze site redundant, mostly through early retirement, and to reduce the salaries of the remaining employees by 18%. At present, VDL produces 600 million glass bottles a year for clients such as Perrier and Italy“s Pellegrino. The bidder assured unions at the factory on 12 July 2006 that it has signed a contract with Perrier for glass bottles until 2014.