21.04.2026 Company Statement: Westfleisch Takes Responsibility in International Workforce Recruitment
Muenster, April 21, 2026: Due to labor and skilled worker shortages in the meat industry, Westfleisch also employs colleagues from so-called third countries outside the EU. This requires particular care and responsibility. We are aware that so-called labor migration presents individual challenges for the people involved.
Health and safety at work and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements – just like fair and respectful interaction and the active promotion of cultural diversity – are top priorities for Westfleisch. Therefore, we take reports of personal experiences of exploitation, as well as unreasonably high recruitment fees for employees from third countries, very seriously.
The German TV Magazine Monitor addresses this issue in today’s episode, reporting on our company in this context and interviewing Westfleisch about our on-site recruitment, among other topics.
Westfleisch only learned from employees coming from third countries already working at one of our sites in Germany that they had to pay unreasonably high “fees” to regional agencies in their home countries for “placement” in jobs in Germany. Sums of up to 15,000 Euros are cited here.
This is deeply at odds with Westfleisch’s values – we expressly condemn this practice.
To protect applicants from unscrupulous recruitment agencies in the future, we are optimizing our processes. To this end, we are establishing our own local structures in India and Vietnam to provide potential employees with the best possible protection against unscrupulous local recruitment agencies.
At the same time, we are taking responsibility for those affected who are already working at our German locations or who have worked for us there: We are currently assessing which employees
have been or are being affected by excessive fees charged by unscrupulous local agencies and to what extent: In consultation with the works council and the external ombudsman, we will shortly establish a financial support package for those particularly affected; in some cases, financial support has already been provided.
We have been a reliable employer in the region since 1928 – that is, for nearly 100 years – and are committed to providing transparent, legally compliant, and humane working conditions.