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End Of An Era! Britannia Industries To Shut Down Its 77-YO Biscuit Unit In Kolkata; Here’s Why

Sanjana Shenoy
britannia kolkata

Britannia Industries, India’s leading food company will shut down its historic biscuit unit in Kolkata’s Taratala after a glorious 77 years of operations. This is the brand’s second oldest factory in India, established in 1947. Read on to know what’s the reason behind the closure of an iconic factory.

Britannia Industries Announces Closure Of Biscuit Unit In Kolkata’s Taratala

According to a report by Times Of India, a source revealed that the closure of Britannia Industries’s 150-worker unit in Taratala will not have a major impact on the company or the state’s revenue. This news follows after Brittania shut down its factories in Chennai and Mumbai earlier. Nestled on 11 acres of leasehold land belonging to Kolkata Port, the reason for this decision has got to do with the dwindling output of the factory.

Due to its age, port sources stated to TOI that this factory’s output is no longer economically viable. However, the Brittania factory had renewed its lease agreement for 30 years in 2018. And extended it to 2048. The company has informed stock exchanges that all its workers at the Taratala factory have accepted the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) packages, offered by the company.

Also Read: Britannia Fined ₹60k For Selling Biscuit Packets Less Than Packaged Weight Mentioned On Label

Employees Take Voluntary Retirement

To mitigate its processes, Brittania is focussing on shutting down inefficient and older factories located near city centres. Rather, Brittania will focus on establishing modern factories and facilities with higher production capacities. While the company continues to hold on to the land for the next 24 years, however, the future utilisation of the Taratala land remains uncertain.

Apart from the Taratala factory, Britannia operates a contract manufacturing factory unit in Dankuni. It is one of India’s largest food brands and Bengal represents its third-largest market, garnering a whopping ₹900 crore in revenue. The factory unit in Taratala with a 150-worker capacity opened in 1947 and has played a significant role in the sales operations, logistics, planning and manufacturing in the eastern region.

Picture Credits: Canva (Representative Pic)

Also Read: Mumbai’s Britannia & Co. Restaurant Celebrates 100 Glorious Years! 5 Things We Still Love About It

As per a Business Standard report, the management at Britannia offered ₹13 lakh to its employees with up to 5 years and 11 months of remaining job tenure. For those with 6 to 10 years of remaining tenure, it offered ₹18.5 lakh. And those with 10 years remaining, it offered ₹22.25 lakh. 

Meanwhile, what do you think about Brittania shutting down its second-oldest factory unit in the country?

Cover Image Courtesy: @chhuti_is/ X 

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