The federation of EBZ employees recently announced that two factories of the state-owned Hellenic Sugar Industry (EBZ) in Serres and Orestiada will shut down, with the only one of the company’s five factories – in Platy, Imathia – continuing to operate.

The closure of the two sugar factories is expected to save the troubled company about 8 million euros, while employees will be given incentives to willingly depart. The state-owned sugar industry, which employs 59 people in Serres, 47 in Orestiada and 106 in Platy, has downsized its production considerably in the past five years.

The decision to close the two factories has caused reactions from the main opposition party SYRIZA, which commented that “the government’s decision to close the EBZ factories will have a dramatic impact on these areas”. The Geotechnical Chamber argued that the closure was a wrong decision and stressed that it will have a catastrophic effect on the local economies.

The Chamber further noted that the factories supported growth in the areas and provided jobs, while recent agricultural efforts were encouraging and warns that a sugar shortage in Greece could lead to an increase of imports, at a time when great efforts are made to support the country’s exports. As such, the Chamber has requested that the government takes initiatives in order to keep the two factories in operation.