# Tönnies Holding

The Tönnies Group is a German family business in the meat industry that operates internationally. Its core business is meat processing of pork and beef. For pork, Tönnies is the German market leader. With a revenue of over €6 billion, the company is one of the largest meat groups in Europe.
The company is based in Brørup, Denmark, with its administrative headquarters in Rheda-Wiedenbrück in East Westphalia, Germany. Tönnies pursues an internationalization strategy with 25 foreign offices, German and international production sites.

## History

The company was founded in 1971 by Bernd Tönnies, joined by his brother Clemens Tönnies a while later.
On July 1, 1994, Bernd Tönnies died. Before he died, he gave 40% of the company's shares to his brother Clemens Tönnies. After his death, his two sons Robert and Clemens junior Tönnies inherited the other 60% of the shares. In 2008, Robert and Clemens junior Tönnies both gave 5% of the share to Clemens Tönnies. In 2012, Robert Tönnies announced that he took over the 25% share of his brother, from then on owning 50% like Clemens Tönnies. Subsequently, Robert Tönnies claimed back the 5% that he gave to Clemens Tönnies, resulting in multiple legal disputes.
In 2015, Tönnies took over the Danish pork company Tican with 1,9 millionen slaughtered pigs in 2013/14.
On Wednesday, 17 June 2020, work was ramped-down at the Tönnies slaughterhouse in Rheda-Wiedenbrück due to an outbreak of COVID-19 infections originating from there. By that date, 657 employees had tested positive for the virus. That afternoon the district of Gütersloh closed all schools and children's daycare centres until summer holiday. It also closed all post offices and cancelled training for FC Gütersloh 2000 as well as an upcoming Black Lives Matter demonstration. By 20 June, the number of infections had exceeded 1,000.

## Structure

The company has around 19,640 employees (as of 2021) and an annual revenue of €6.065 billion (2021, compared to €7.5 billion in 2019). The export share is about 50 percent.
Main owner and company's chairman is billionaire Clemens Tönnies with a share of 45% of the food industry giant.
The company is divided in eight business segments: pork, sausages and beef, convenience, ingredients, logistics, as well as international and central services.
In Rheda-Wiedenbrück, the company has its headquarters and operates Germanys largest pig slaughterhouse.

## Controversies
### Working conditions

The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) criticizes Tönnies for "miserable working conditions", with more than 70% of the employees at the main plant employed under temporary work contracts.

### Illegal disposal of slaughterhouse waste

From 2017 to 2020, slaughterhouse waste was processed in a biogas plant in Paulushofen, although the plant did not have a permit for this. Much of the slaughterhouse waste came from a slaughterhouse in Weißenfels in Saxony-Anhalt, which belongs to the Tönnies meat group. More than 450 trips are said to have been made from there to Paulushofen.

### Racism accusations

In 2019, Clemens Tönnies was temporarily suspended from his position as chairman of the supervisory board of the German soccer team FC Schalke 04 because of accusations of racist statements. On 30 June 2020, Clemens Tönnies decided to step down from his role as the chairman of Schalke's supervisory board after 19 years in service.

### Protests against the resumption of operations during the COVID-19 pandemic

On July 4, 2020, the alliance Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie held a rally on the factory premises to demand that the decommissioned slaughterhouse remain permanently closed. Earlier that night, activists had climbed onto the building and attached a banner with the words “Shut down animal industry”.
On July 17, 2020, around 300 participants protested against the reopening at the plant site. This was opposed by 300 farmers who welcomed the reopening of the company.
In March 2022, Tönnies was criticised for trying to recruit meat factory workers among Ukrainian refugees at the Polish-Ukrainian border.

### Protest in Rheda-Wiedenbrück

On February 15, 2024, a peaceful action by the Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie alliance took place on the grounds of the Tönnies headquarters in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Activists unfurled banners with the inscriptions “Gemeinsam gegen Tönnies” (Together Against Tönnies), “Tönnies Vergesellschaften” (Socialize Tönnies) and “Neokolonialismus stoppen” (Stop Neocolonialism). The alliance announced further actions against the company.

## Sponsoring

The Tönnies Group has been a sponsor of the traditional Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 for many years. Currently, the subsidiary Böklunder premium sponsor until 2024. Bernd and Clemens Tönnies were also personally involved with the soccer club for years.
Since July 2019, there has also been an advertising partnership between the Tönnies Group and Arminia Bielefeld. Due to the events surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, the sports club decided to end the partnership at the end of the season.