Out of the original 308 employees, 80 remain to finish off the work in Rødding. Of these, only 43 are using Danish Crown’s job bank, which is part of the company’s social plan. The rest of the employees have either found new jobs or are seeking to upgrade their qualifications.

"It is absolutely brilliant that so many have already moved on. It is also very positive that about 130 employees have found jobs elsewhere in Danish Crown," said Niels-Henrik Sørensen, the union representative who will be managing the job bank for the next four months.

He is delighted that his colleagues have managed to hold their heads high throughout the process.

"They have kept up their good work and maintained their high spirits even though we have known for a long time that we would be closing down. Everybody has wanted to make the most of it," said the union representative.

The decision to close down the department in Rødding due to surplus capacity in Danish Crown was announced on 17 February 2009.

"I am full of praise for my staff who, for nineteen and a half months, have remained deeply loyal and flexible in their approach. You don’t find such loyalty everywhere. The will to battle on has been quite unique and probably has a lot to do with people’s general commitment to the well-being of the company. When customers have been visiting, the employees have asked whether they are happy with what we are delivering, and in that way we have always focused on delivering the goods," said Carl Jacobsen, factory manager at Rødding.

The employees will be marking their last working day in Rødding by eating breakfast together and putting a joint of pork on the barbecue for lunch.