In 2024–2025, Romania’s food industry is facing a persistent labor shortage that can no longer be explained by cyclical economic fluctuations. The lack of skilled personnel directly affects production continuity, expansion capacity, and operational efficiency, particularly in the meat and dairy sectors.

The mechanism is twofold. On the one hand, activity in the food industry involves physical labor, strict hygiene conditions, and compliance with standardized procedures, which limits the recruitment base. On the other hand, competition with other industrial sectors and outward migration reduce the availability of local labor. Wage increases partially mitigate the shortage but are directly reflected in unit production costs.

Eurostat data for 2024 indicate persistent recruitment difficulties in the food industry across the European Union, with a more pronounced impact in Central and Eastern European countries. OECD analyses confirm that labor shortages in the food sector are structural in nature, linked to demographics and labor mobility. In Romania, these trends are particularly acute in slaughterhouses and milk processing units, where staff turnover remains high.

The implication is strategic. In the absence of automation and the reorganization of technological workflows, labor shortages will continue to constrain the competitiveness of the food industry and its ability to respond to market demand.

(Photo: Freepik)