In early July, Nestlé Waters France sold off two of the three bottling plants operated by its subsidiary SFER (Société Française des Eaux Régionales or French Regional Water Company).
The Saint-Lambert springs near Paris have been acquired by a French company. In 2012 Nestlé removed Pure Life bottling from Saint-Lambert to its site in Belgium, which resulted in a significant voluntary redundancy plan.
The Belgian group Spadel has acquired the Carola water brand located in Alsace.
In 2012, commenting on a possible buyout of the company, a Nestlé spokesperson said, "The decision to consider negotiating the sale of SFER is motivated by a possible re-positioning of our national and international brand portfolio in France."
The takeover agreements provide for the transfer of the entire business of both companies, including the 50 employees at Carola and the 16 employees at Saint-Lambert. The IUF-affiliated FGA-CFDT will be monitoring the situation of the former Nestlé employees as they transition to their new employers.