The German glass plant in Gardelegen, Saxony-Anhalt, which produces beverage bottles, will end production by the end of September, as Volksstimme and mdr reported. Around 120 employees were informed earlier this week, with management citing high energy costs in Germany as the main reason. According to the works council, the move was not linked to insolvency but was instead a planned closure. The plant belongs to Portuguese group BA Glass, which supplies bottles for brands such as Campari, Schweppes, and Granini.
Union representatives described the announcement as highly unusual, claiming that the workforce was pressured to sign agreements without a proper social plan. Florian Hüfner from union IG BCE criticized the company for ignoring existing dismissal protection periods of six months. The works council has now engaged lawyers to review the legality of the decision. While logistics will continue until the end of the year, the future of the site remains uncertain.
The facility in Gardelegen was opened in 2010 under the name Agenda Glas and was once celebrated as Europe’s most modern glassworks. After an early insolvency, it was acquired in 2011 by India’s Hindusthan National Glass Industries, before passing to BA Glass in a later restructuring. Over the years, it became a key supplier for the German spirits and beverage industry, including major clients such as Rotkäppchen and various breweries.
BA Glass, headquartered in Porto, ranks as the world’s fourth-largest glass packaging producer with more than 5,000 employees and 14 plants in Europe and Mexico. In recent years, the group has pursued an expansion strategy, most recently acquiring CP Glass from Canpack Group in Poland to strengthen its Central European presence.
At the time of the Polish deal, industry observers noted that the integration of Canpack’s two glassworks in Sieraków and Jedlice into BA Glass’s network could raise questions about regional market consolidation. Sieraków, located in western Poland and not far from the German border, lies within overlapping supply regions, highlighting possible competitive pressures.
The closure of the Gardelegen site also reflects a broader crisis in the German glass industry. According to the Bundesverband der Glasindustrie, container glass sales fell by 3.6% in 2024, with beer and spirits declining by 5% and wine and sparkling wine by 1.5%. Non-alcoholic beverages such as water, milk, and juice dropped by 4.9%. In total, container glass output fell to 3.79 million tons, a decrease of 2.5%.
