Faced with the current unprecedented crisis, the absolute priority of Savencia Fromage & Dairy has been and remains the safety of its 20,000 employees worldwide, and of all its partners, to enable it to continue to serve its customers in all the countries where the Group is present.

Even before the official recommendations for management of the Covid-19 crisis, Savencia succeeded at an early stage in taking the greatest precautions to protect its personnel. Crisis management measures and business continuity plans were deployed at all Group subsidiaries. The organization of milk collection, of production site workstations and of supply chain platforms was adapted to ensure food chain continuity with no compromise on safety. Teleworking by support functions was also effectively deployed.

In the same spirit, and driven by its values of solidarity and societal commitment, the Group has decided to implement the following measures:

• In France, Savencia has wished to express recognition for the unfailing commitment of its employees who have made the continuity of operations at our sites possible. They will receive a thank-you bonus of up to €1,000 for their work during the period of confinement.
• As proposed by the Board of Directors, at the Annual General Meeting held on April 23, 2020 our shareholders decided not to pay any dividend in respect of the 2019 fiscal year.
• The members of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee have also decided, on a personal basis, to forfeit part of their compensation which will be gifted to solidary associations.

The Group as a whole, via Group subsidiaries, has also contributed to the effort of solidarity by giving 320 tons of food products (cheese and other dairy products) to hospitals, healthcare workers, Food Banks, humanitarian agencies and other associations focusing on aid for fragile persons. More than 200,000 items of personal protective equipment (smocks, mobcaps, facemasks etc.) have also been remitted for the benefit of workers engaged every day in combating Covid-19 (in hospitals and other healthcare institutions, retirement homes, fire brigades etc.).

Today, Savencia is actively preparing – in the countries and regions where the public authorities have decided on measures of de-confinement – to deploy all necessary means for supporting the employees concerned with the help of a guide to best practices which will be updated as the situation evolves.

Jean-Paul Torris, Chief Executive Officer of Savencia Fromage & Dairy, makes the following comment: “In this exceptional context, I wish to express our immense gratitude to all our teams whose work, day by day, has been and continues to be remarkable. I am proud of their reactivity and of their continuing commitment to our fundamental vocation of ‘Leading the way to better food’ which today rings more than ever true. Together with our milk producers, suppliers, customers and other partners, we all remain mobilized to ensure, day by day, food chain continuity whilst watching out for the safety of all which has never ceased to be our foremost priority. I am convinced that with the continuing commitment of the industry as a whole -, producers, distributors and other partners – we will succeed in surmounting this ordeal”.