Greece: Heracles Cement has terminated operations at its plant in Halkida, as part of a restructuring program of its production structure. The production unit at Halkida has been idle since July 2011.
The plant at Halkida was hit by a plunge in construction activity in Attica, with sales falling by 80% between 2008 and 2013. The company said it would seek every possible solution to minimise the effect of its decision to close down the unit on its 236 workers. Heracles Cement said the decision will burden its 2013 results by Euro57m but it expects a positive impact of Euro18m/yr in subsequent years.
The restructuring programme is aimed to help the Lafarge subsidiary cope with Greece's recession in its construction sector. Under the new structure, Heracles Cement will continue cement production from its two units in Volos and Evia, exploiting their comparative advantages, mainly their port facilities, to support the group's activities in Greece and in the wider Mediterranean region.