MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. France’s group Danone - one of the largest manufacturers of milk and dairy products - is closing two factories in Russia: one in Tomsk, in Siberia, and the other in Cheboksary, the capital of the Chuvash autonomy, in the middle reaches of the Volga River.

The operations of the Cheboksary dairy factory will be moved to Kazan, Danone told the daily Izvestia. The factory to be closed down in Chuvashia is the republic’s biggest: it produces 250 tonnes of 40 products a day.

The equipment from the dairy factory in Tomsk having an output of 100 tonnes a day will be distributed among two plants in other regions.

"The reorganization will terminate the operation of the Tomsk dairy combine and consolidate industrial capacities in Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk. The Cheboksary dairy factory’s operations will be redistributed among the existing facilities in Samara, Saransk and Kazan, the company said.

Danone explains the main reason for the decision is the equipment’s high wear rate, low profitability and falling sales. In the current situation investment into bringing the manufacturing facilities in line with the new quality standards and ecological security would be unreasonable.

"The streamlining will affect 300 employees. All compensations to the dismissed employees will exceed those mandatory under Russia’s labour legislation.