Bata shuts last Central European factory in Czech village

The brand's last factory in the region

Shoemaker Bata is shutting down production at its factory in the Czech village of Dolní Němčí, Moravia — according to the company itself, this was the last operating Bata plant in all of Central Europe. Around a hundred employees will lose their jobs there in the coming days and weeks; company spokesperson Petr Souček said the firm intends to help each of them individually find new employment.

The company is currently discussing employees' futures with representatives of the Dolní Němčí municipality and the local labour office, and is negotiating severance terms with the trade union. A separate support programme is being prepared to help affected staff find new jobs.

The factory's history in Moravia

The Dolní Němčí plant began operating back in 1970 and became part of Bata in 1992, after the brand returned to what was then Czechoslovakia. Last year the factory produced around 150,000 pairs of shoes for Bata's own retail network and other customers. Today it employs just under a hundred people.

Why the production was declared unprofitable

According to company management, the factory was built for large-scale mass production whose structure and capacity no longer match current market demand. Bata does not expect output at the Moravian plant ever to return to its former volumes, citing structural changes in the European footwear market.

“For the plant to remain profitable at current volumes, it would have to completely change the nature of its production. Given today's volumes, purchase prices and their outlook, the investment needed for such a transformation would not be efficient,” Souček explained. He said that before making the decision, the company considered various options — expanding production, finding new customers, fully converting the equipment to a different type of production, or a major modernisation. “No acceptable solution could be found under current conditions in the European footwear manufacturing market,” the Bata spokesperson added.

What happens to staff and the brand in Czechia

Board member Andrea Montagnoli called closing the plant a very difficult decision. “Unfortunately, this type of operation cannot be kept profitable under current market conditions. I want to stress that we greatly value the work of our colleagues in Dolní Němčí, whose skills and dedication have always been exemplary,” he said.

The Bata brand itself is not leaving Czechia: the company will continue operating in the country through its retail network — it is the factory, not the brand's presence on the Czech market, that is closing.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz