Ritter Sport announces layoffs. This is the first such situation in 110 years

Ritter Sport, the manufacturer of the famous square chocolate, announces the first layoffs in the company's history, reports Portal Spożywczy. For the first time in 110 years, the company decides to reduce employment, which is caused by the rising costs of raw materials and weaker demand. At the same time, the cocoa market remains volatile, and confectionery producers in Europe and the US continue to feel the effects of previous price records.

Ritter Sport is reducing employment after a poor year

German chocolate manufacturer Ritter Sport announced plans to reduce jobs at its headquarters in Waldenbuch. According to a company spokesman quoted by the dpa news agency, approximately 10 percent is to be liquidated. positions, which means noticeable cuts in the structure of approximately 1,000 employees. This the first such decision in the company's over 110-year history.

The company indicates that its results were negatively affected rising costs of raw materials, especially cocoa, as well as energy and packaging. Last year, Ritter Sport recorded a loss and operating profit turned out to be lower than expected, and the company also struggled with falling demand, which increased the pressure on sales results. Ritter Sport employs approximately 2,000 people globally. people and has already announced optimization activities, and the current cuts are to be part of a broader plan to adapt its operations to difficult market conditions.

Chocolate in stores is still expensive

Recent years have seen unprecedented increases in cocoa prices. In 2024, the raw material reached historic records – on the London Stock Exchange, futures prices increased almost fourfold in two years, reaching nearly GBP 7,000 per tonne. In New York, prices approached USD 8,500 per tonne. The main cause was the disastrous harvest in West Africa, affected by drought and the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

Although in 2026, cocoa became cheaper by over 70%. compared to the peaks of 2024, confectionery manufacturers are in no hurry to reduce retail prices. As analysts point out, companies are trying to rebuild margins damaged by previous costs, and additionally, producers buy raw materials in advance, so current prices in stores reflect contracts concluded many months earlier.

In Poland, chocolate is still more expensive than a year earlier – according to data from Bank Pekao, by about 19%. – but at the same time, wholesale cocoa prices have fallen by over 60 percent within a year. Manufacturers use cost-cutting strategies, such as reducing basis weight (so-called shrinkflation) or modifying recipes in which part of the cocoa is replaced with cheaper ingredients. Experts emphasize that the cocoa market remains unstable and variable harvest forecasts make price stabilization difficult.

Prepared by AD

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