Lambertz, Germany's largest producer of the traditional Christmas stollen cake, fears bankruptcy because of skyrocketing energy prices. Meanwhile, demand for the company's products is at its highest.
"The situation is paradoxical: our seven plants are running at full capacity, but we are not optimistic about the financial outcome, as energy costs have risen sharply," Hermann Bühlbecker, the managing director, said.
Moreover, the company's management fears possible power outages in Germany this winter. Without natural gas supplied through pipelines, the company's bakeries will have no choice but to shut down production, in which case it would imminently go bust, Bühlbecker said.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that switching production to other types of fuel, such as oil or liquefied natural gas, in the case of Lambertz, will take at least two years and require significant investments. However, the company's management warns that it may turn out to be completely unviable from an economic point of view.
Lambertz is the world's leading producer of gingerbread, biscuits, and authentic Christmas stollen cakes. In the fiscal year 2020/2021, the firm had 4,000 employees and a revenue of €656 million.