Strike at the largest frozen food producer Ardo Frost Austria for more money and against division through temporary work

dossier

“The approximately 150 workers at Ardo Austria Frost in Groß-Enzersdorf (Lower Austria) stopped work in all shifts on September 11th. The reason for the warning strike is the refusal of the factory and group management to negotiate an internal wage increase with the works council. To cushion the massive burden of inflation, the workforce is demanding an additional net wage of 200 euros per month. (…) Ardo is the main producer of frozen vegetables in Austria. Work in production or in cold storage is difficult and requires a high level of flexibility from employees. At the location in Groß-Enzersdorf, production takes place in three to four shifts for well-known brands such as Iglo and frozen products for supermarket chains such as Hofer, Billa and Spar…”PRO-GE report from September 11, 2023 , see further information and now the fight against the closure:

• Mood at freezing point: Rally on November 9th in front of the ARDO factory in Groß-Enzersdorf against the threatened closure by the Belgian company - solution so far only for vegetables
  • Ardo Austria Frost GmbH: Mood at freezing point. Protest and solidarity rally in front of Ardo in Groß-Enzersdorf
    “At the protest rally in front of the Ardo freezer plant in Groß-Enzersdorf, the weather also corresponded to the mood: cloudy, sad and close to freezing point. Despite six negotiation dates, a fair social plan is still not in sight for the approximately 240 employees. Around 360 people gathered in front of the factory in Groß-Enzersdorf to support the employees with their demands.
    A fair social plan with a foundation is required
    The PRO-GE and GPA unions therefore called for a protest on November 9, 2026 at 8 a.m. “Mood at freezing point” and “Responsibility cannot be frozen!” can be read on the posters. “While a solution has now been found for the vegetables, the future of the 240 employees is still uncertain,” summarizes Dietmar Breiner, chairman of the workers’ works council at Ardo, in his welcome.
    It is particularly important that there is a work foundation in addition to a fair social plan, emphasized several speakers. “A work foundation is urgently needed to cushion social hardship,” said Breiner. “The workers could also gain time to further their training and find another job in the region,” emphasized Michael Prem, chairman of the employee works council at Ardo. (…)
    Solution so far only for vegetables
    "The agreement presented on Friday to secure vegetable production in Marchfeld is to be welcomed. However, it should not be forgotten that there is still no solution in sight for the around 240 employees of the Ardo factory. They need the solidarity of the population and farmers to get the company management to give in," said Reinhold Binder, federal chairman of the production union (PRO-GE) and Barbara Teiber, federal chairman of the GPA union, emphasizing the importance of the event. After a round of social plan negotiations announced for last Friday did not take place, the next talks are now scheduled to take place on Thursday…”  Report from November 9, 2026 from PRO-GE with a picture gallery and further information. See the call before:
    • Ardo closure: protest demonstration on November 9th
      “240 jobs are about to end at Ardo in Groß-Enzersdorf. While the employees are fighting for a fair social plan, PRO-GE is calling on the company to finally take responsibility…”Call from the PRO-GE and GPA unions together with the works council 
  • ARDO: Solidarity in front of the factory gate – but what happens next?
    “Around 350 to 400 people took part in the rally on November 9th in front of the ARDO factory in Groß-Enzersdorf. The solidarity was great. But the question of how the closure could be prevented remained largely unanswered.
    Thick November fog lay over the Marchfeld when the demonstration against the planned plant closure gathered in front of the ARDO factory in Groß-Enzersdorf on the morning of November 9th. Despite the bitter cold, we estimate that a total of around 350 people took part in the protest over the course of the action. In addition to representatives of various trade unions – including PRO-GE, GPA, vida and Bau-Holz – works councils and representatives of the deep freeze cooperative were also present.
    Union solidarity was clearly visible. However, the employees directly affected were less well represented. This should not be misconstrued as a lack of willingness to fight. Uncertainty about their own future, fear of losing their job and dependence on possible individual solutions put employees under considerable pressure. (…)
    The argument of “red-white-red vegetables” was repeatedly used in the speeches: our vegetables, our production, our jobs. The national packaging of the demands was obvious. This fits with an ironic remark that made the rounds during the rally: “If the workers were Spinach, they would have been saved a long time ago.”
    But behind the patriotic rhetoric lies a crucial question: Who controls production and decides the future of the employees?
    Works council chairman Dietmar Breiner repeatedly called for talks with management in Belgium about a social plan. His perspective focused primarily on finding new jobs for the laid-off employees. However, this means that the impending closure is already largely assumed to be inevitable. A social plan may mitigate the consequences of a defeat, but it cannot prevent them. Apparently the owner family is not even prepared to grant the works council a solution with the lowest possible social losses.
    The argument of domestic production and supply initially dominated the speeches of other union representatives and the Chamber of Labor.
    It was only towards the end of the rally that works council chairman Breiner suggested a further perspective: the ownership structure would have to be changed and the plant would have to be taken over by a state holding company so that such a development would not happen again. (…)
    The argument continues
    The rally showed that solidarity extends beyond the company. The strong presence of trade unionists and works councils from other sectors indicates considerable potential that has so far only been mobilized to a limited extent…”Report by Georg T. from November 9, 2026 from the Class Struggle group with photos of the rally and before
    • ARDO: VEGETABLE PRODUCTION HAS BEEN SAVED? AND WHAT ABOUT THE JOBS?
      call of the Class Struggle group for the rally in front of the ARDO factory on November 9, 2026
  • ARDO: How corporate greed for profit threatens an entire region. We say: expropriate without compensation, but under workers’ control!
    “When capital withdraws, destroyed livelihoods are left behind
    190 employees, 50 temporary workers, hundreds of farms and an entire region are affected. Ardo wants to stop production in Groß-Enzersdorf and continue to supply the Austrian market - from other plants. What is a business decision for the company threatens the livelihoods of thousands of people. The business books must be opened, closures prevented and operations continued under the control of the employees. If the owners refuse, the property must be expropriated and socialized.
    It's not just jobs that are disappearing
    190 employees are expected to lose their jobs. There are also around 50 temporary workers. These numbers are already alarming. But they still say little about the extent of the impending social catastrophe. (…)
    Ardo: Rationalization at the expense of the employees
    Ardo justifies the planned closure of the factory in Groß-Enzersdorf with an investment requirement of over 100 million euros, high costs and a lack of competitiveness. But the Austrian subsidiary was recently in the black: in 2024/25 its profit was around 1.86 million euros. At the same time, the Belgian frozen food company is also cutting jobs at its Ardooie headquarters: 27 jobs have already been cut there in 2026; Another ten are lost because a disused production line is not put back into operation. In total, around 277 jobs are available in Belgium and Austria - including around 240 employees and temporary workers in Groß-Enzersdorf.
    Ardo calls this an optimization of its European production network. For the employees it means a loss of jobs and for the vegetable farmers in Marchfeld it means the loss of an important customer.
    Production is not unprofitable - it should take place where it benefits the company most. Employees and agriculture pay the bill. (…)
    The consequences don’t end at the factory gate. Groß-Enzersdorf and Marchfeld are connected to frozen vegetable production through a dense network of economic relationships. Hundreds of agricultural businesses have focused their cultivation planning on the processing and marketing of their products. They have to finance seeds, machinery, fuel, fertilizer and inputs. They need workers and must harvest their crops at the right time. Especially when it comes to vegetables that are to be frozen industrially, harvesting and processing are closely coordinated. (…)
    Disclosure of the books of accounts is not a technical detail. It is a political demand. Anyone who claims that a business has to be closed for economic reasons must have this claim checked. The owners cannot simultaneously decide alone the future of the work and control the information on which they base their decision.
    The workforce must also be given the opportunity to develop their own suggestions for modernization and continuation. To do this, it needs access to the technical data, delivery contracts, sales opportunities and financing conditions.
    No decision about the future of the plant without full disclosure of the accounts and control by the employees! (…) If Ardo does not want to continue production, that must not mean dismantling the machines and eliminating production capacity. If continuation is technically and economically possible, it must be implemented despite the owner's resistance. The public sector cannot simply assume the costs while the decision-making power remains in private hands.
    The alternative is the expropriation of the plant and its socialization under the control of the employees…”Article by Georg T. from October 20, 2026 in the Class Struggle group 
• Strike at frozen food producer Ardo in Lower Austria interrupted, failed due to strike-breaking by temporary workers - talks are continuing, but unlikely to be resumed
  • Strike at frozen food producer Ardo in Lower Austria interrupted, talks continue
    “…After almost 14 days, the strike at the branch of the Belgian frozen food producer Ardo in Groß-Enzersdorf/Lower Austria was temporarily interrupted on Tuesday. Discussions with an open outcome are ongoing, according to the PRO-GE union. The employees are demanding 200 euros more net per month. The group had already been accused of a lack of willingness to talk and of putting pressure on colleagues…”Report from September 26, 2023 at diepresse.com 
  • Strike at Ardo ended. No progress in negotiations. Resumption unlikely
    "The autumn wage round begins in Austria with a bitter setback: After almost two weeks, a strike at the frozen food producer Ardo Austria Frost ends without success for the workforce. It was supposed to be an "indefinite strike", but it ended on Monday. Full-time work has resumed since the morning shift on Tuesday, the works council Dietmar Breiner jW informed on Wednesday. After a warning strike, the workforce went on strike two weeks ago. At first the mood was combative. (...) "It's an interruption, "No end," [Breiner] told jW on Wednesday. However, in the interests of social partnership, it would be better if there was no strike (...) Breiner made a similar statement to jW: The interruption of the strike "allows us to negotiate better" (...) A central problem in the industrial dispute was the use of around 15 temporary workers per shift, who kept production running ended during the strike, but Transfer Personnel Management continued to send strikebreakers. The Chamber of Labor (AK) tried to have the strike-breaking by temporary workers banned by court, as there is no precedent for it in Austrian labor law, as jW learned from the AK lawyers. This significantly weakened the fighting strength of the Ardo workforce, which may have led to the interruption of the strike Ardo employees are part of the PRO-GE union. The metal industry's groundbreaking collective bargaining began on Monday, in which PRO-GE is also involved.The collective agreement for 138,000 employees is negotiated here. After big announcements, the unions' demand came as a surprise even to the companies: 11.6 percent plus. That is just slightly above the inflation rate. The unions quickly cooled down the timid hopes of a hot autumn in wage negotiations and labor disputes in Austria.” Article by Dieter Reinisch in the young world from September 28, 2023 
• Indefinite strike at Ardo: walkout at the freezer 
  “Ardo Austria Frost employees on indefinite strike. Companies are putting pressure on and dividing through temporary workers
  Marchfeld, which borders Vienna to the east, is Austria's vegetable chamber. The company Ardo Austria Frost, part of a Belgian group, produces 83 percent of the frozen vegetables produced in the Alpine republic. The factory in Groß-Enzersdorf on the north-eastern edge of the capital also exports to nearby countries - especially the Federal Republic of Germany. But the workforce has been on indefinite strike since Wednesday, as Junge Welt learned in conversation with works council members Dietmar Breiner and Gregor König during their site visit on Friday. (…)In Austria, he was told by management that they were not responsible, says Breiner, who also sits on the company's European works council. "I flew to Belgium and they didn't talk to me there because they said they weren't responsible." It's been like this for years now. In July, the works council demanded a net wage increase of 200 euros. The Belgian group made a profit of 78 million euros last year - in Austria it achieved a plus. Ardo has 137 workers in Groß-Enzersdorf.Last week there was a vote on the offer of a one-off payment of 700 euros - out of 100 colleagues present, 75 voted against it. After company meetings and warning strikes last Monday, however, it became clear that the workers wanted more, emphasized works council member König in the jW interview. After the strike over three shifts and another vote, the vote was for an indefinite strike. (…)More than two thirds of the workforce are on strike, said König. But the temporary worker company Transfer Personnel Management is making the labor dispute more difficult and sending 15 workers to each shift. The shifts were extended from 7.7 to twelve hours. Without temporary workers, the economic pressure on the company could increase, says König. In the region, around 300 farmers and countless jobs in logistics depend on Ardo. The Chamber of Labor is therefore now trying to legally prevent the posting of temporary workers.The company responds with intimidation. On Wednesday, Breiner was threatened with legal action over the labor dispute. Workers would be approached and lured with a one-off payment of 700 euros and a free kebab so that they would confirm in writing that they would not take any further part in the strike. Breiner knows that apprentices in particular are targeted by the company, and some are “tyrannized with WhatsApp messages.”..”Article by Dieter Reinisch, Groß-Enzersdorf, in the Junge Welt from September 18, 2023 
• Indefinite strike at frozen food producer Ardo: Workers demand a negotiation date, management put strikers under pressure and entice them with free kebab
  “After an almost all-day warning strike on September 11th, production was resumed for one day to enable negotiations on the demands of around 150 workers at the Ardo Austria Frost company in Groß-Enzersdorf. However, the management and group management refused to have any discussions with the works council about increasing wages by 200 euros net per month. Instead, employees are put under pressure. They should sign a commitment not to take part in further company meetings and strikes. The management offers the prospect of a one-time bonus and free kebab for signing. (…)Since September 14th, all three shifts have been on strike for an indefinite period. The aim of the strike continues to be an internal increase in monthly wages by 200 euros net in order to cushion the massive financial burden caused by inflation. “The workforce is also demanding that management set a specific negotiation date and have serious discussions with the works council regarding this demand,” says PRO-GE state manager Patrick Slacik. The responsibility for further escalation and possible longer production downtimes lies entirely with the management…”PRO-GE report from September 13, 2023

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