Danish Crown seeks at least 100 additional butchers

A trend break in the workforce of Danish Crown is imminent. After several rounds of layoffs in recent years, the Danish cooperative slaughter company now reports that it is looking for at least 100 additional butchers. This is to accommodate the supply of extra slaughter pigs. Due to the growing Danish pig population and decreasing live exports to Germany, more pigs are being offered at the slaughter line. The existing butchering capacity is currently fully utilized, making expansion necessary. The intention is to convert the location in Vejen, which Danish Crown acquired in 2023, into an efficient butchering site over the next 9 months. The buildings on the 14,000 square meter site are already suitable for food production but still need to be adapted for butchering pigs. The necessary permits are expected to be provided in the first quarter of 2026. More pigs and slaughters The number of piglets and slaughter pigs in Danish pig farms has significantly increased on an annual basis. Last year, on October 1, there were still 5.40 million weaned piglets counted, now there are 5.69 million. An increase of 0.29 million, or 5.4%. The number of slaughter pigs rose even more sharply: from 2.28 million in October 2024 to 2.54 million. An increase of no less than 11.4%. In total, 15,030,348 pigs were slaughtered in Denmark last year. This represents an increase of 5.4% compared to 2024, as Danish statistics show. Trend break That Danish Crown is again attracting new employees clearly deviates from the downsizing policy of recent years. Just last year, 500 (office) jobs were eliminated, and hundreds of jobs were also lost in previous years. The company currently has about 25,000 jobs.