Ardo's Closure Package: 20,000 Euros a Head, a Walkout Threat and a Date With an Arbitration Panel

Groß-Enzersdorf — A frozen-food plant in Lower Austria is heading for a court-supervised arbitration process after seven rounds of talks over redundancy terms ended without agreement and without a date for the next meeting.

At the centre of the dispute is the package Ardo has put on the table for the roughly 190 people it directly employs at its Groß-Enzersdorf site. According to an insider account dated 13 November 2026, the company offered an average of 20,000 euros gross per person on 12 November 2026 — a total of about 3.8 million euros. Ardo did not confirm those figures.

"Ridiculous," says works council chief

Dietmar Breiner, who chairs the works council at Ardo, put the company's total offer at just under 4 million euros for the roughly 190 staff, averaging around 20,000 euros gross each, though individual payments vary. He called the proposal ridiculous.

Patrick Slacik, regional director of the PRO-GE union, said some employees would receive only about 800 euros under the draft. In his view, the offer had been improved only marginally.

PRO-GE spokesman Mathias Beer described the reported sum on 12 November 2026 as a paltry mini social plan and attacked management's approach. Both Breiner and Slacik accused the company of never engaging with the substance of the negotiations.

The unions are seeking a total volume in the double-digit millions, according to the insider report. They declined to comment on specifics but ruled out categorically any plan that is too thinly funded.

Political backing and a street protest

Support has come from politics. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) demanded a fair and adequately funded social plan on 12 November 2026. Three days earlier, on Monday 9 November 2026, around 350 people had demonstrated for fair severance protection.

With the seventh round of social-plan negotiations over and no new talks scheduled, PRO-GE and GPA are preparing to call in the arbitration body at the Korneuburg Labour and Social Court. Breiner handed over the application, whose ruling carries the legal force of a works agreement. It was due to be filed the following Monday, when the workforce is also to be informed.

One central demand from PRO-GE and GPA remains the creation of a labour foundation for training and further education. The employee representatives say a settlement without the arbitration body is conceivable only if Ardo makes a substantial improvement.

Company defends offer and warns of delay

Ardo presented its offer on 12 November 2026 as fair and balanced and urged the unions to enter into dialogue. It stressed its broad negotiating mandate on the ground and said it would take part constructively in the arbitration procedure.

At the same time, the company warned that an official arbitration process could delay final clarity for employees by up to 18 months. The Korneuburg Regional Court said it was unable to estimate the actual duration of proceedings in advance.

Plant to shut entirely by August 2027

The conflict stems from the looming closure of the Lower Austrian plant, announced at the end of September. The site is to be shut completely at the end of August 2027. Around 190 directly employed staff are affected, along with about 50 agency workers.

Under the company's timetable, frozen-vegetable production stops at the end of December 2026. Pasta manufacturing is to end in spring 2027, after which the logistics operations will be wound down step by step. Ardo blamed the closure on rising costs for energy, labour and raw materials in Austria as well as outdated production equipment.

Modernising the plant would have cost more than 100 million euros and would not pay off, according to the company. The existing machinery is to be moved to other group sites; Ardo turned down support offers from federal and regional authorities.