Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Birkenstock Confirms Purchase of Former MAJA Plant for New Wittichenau Footbed Factory

The takeover accelerates an expansion of Saxony production capacity by converting vacant halls to make cork-latex footbeds.

Overview

  • The company says negotiations are complete and it has taken over the Brischko site in Wittichenau.
  • Birkenstock reports paying about €18 million for more than 78,000 m² of halls plus roughly 80,000 m² of undeveloped land.
  • Modernization begins in early 2026 with new machinery to be installed during the year, targeting operational status by the end of 2027.
  • Several hundred jobs are planned by 2030, with recruitment and training spanning engineers, industrial electronics and mechatronics roles, as well as production apprenticeships.
  • IG Metall says staff in Bernstadt and Görlitz have not been briefed and fear job shifts, while Birkenstock frames Wittichenau as added capacity due to constraints at existing plants and difficulties finding qualified workers.