"The closure of production will be crucial for at least 600 locals, [plus] working pensioners and migrant workers, so we have to do something about it," said Tatyana Goliganova, head of a local employment centre.

"The transfer of the Komilfo production lines allows us to focus our chocolate manufacturing facilities in Russia and strengthen the factory as a key competence center for confectionery products in Europe," said Laurent Freixe, Nestle's head of European operations.

Demand for premium chocolate in Russia is rising as the number of people who can afford it is increasing. Earlier this week, the chief executive of Chocoladenfabriken Lindt & Spruengli AG, told Dow Jones Newswires that he sees Russia as an increasingly important market.

The move comes after Nestle recently said it is investing 240 million Swiss francs ($233 million) to expand its Kuban factory in Timashevsk, where it is producing its Nescafe Gold soluble coffee. The factory will start production in the third quarter of next year.

Nestle has 13 production facilities in Russia.

The chocolate factory in Tuchkovo, a town of around of 19,000 people 80 kilometres west of Moscow, has been closed and production transferred to Samara.

While Nestle is seeking to cut costs to protect its profits in Russia, the closure of the factory is likely to hit the town particularly hard. Many of the town's residents depend directly or indirectly on the factory.

Two of the factory's workers have written a letter on the factory's website, pleading for help.

When Ivan, a line operator, started working at the factory six years ago, the Ruzskaya factory - as it was called before Nestle bought it in 2007 - appeared to have a promising future.

"All employees were very enthusiastic about Nestle coming - we were glad to become a part of a world-renowned brand and thought the salaries would be higher," said Ivan, who didn't give his surname.

Now, the company's promises "to develop production" and "take care of the people" are sounding hollow.

The problems started when the crisis hit and, despite a host of surveys saying that the chocolate industry wouldn't suffer, Nestle announced that the factory was facing losses and started to cut back production.

In Tuchkovo employees were laid off, bonuses cancelled and working conditions made tougher as the firm saved on free water and toilet paper.

At the same time, dismissed employees were replaced by a group of out-of-town workers on temporary contracts from the region of Chuvashia, leading to the first wave of discontent among long-time workers.

Ivan, along with many others, found himself out of a job several months ago. He pinned his hopes on his wife keeping her job at the factory, but she was also made unemployed when the factory closed its doors.

"The factory closure will enable the company to optimise production and use resources more effectively, developing the successful brands Komilfo and Ruzanna," Nestle's CEO in Russia, Stefan de Loecker, said in a company statement.

Workers say they are unlikely to find new jobs in the area. The other major employers near the town, an LG factory and a coffee-roasting plant, have no vacancies currently.

Nestle had said in a statement it would offer jobs in other factories to Tuchkovo workers. The workers have complained that Nestle's nearest factories in Zhukovskoye and Voskresenskoye are both more than 100 kilometres from Tuchkovo, and the company would not cover the extra transport costs.

A trade union representing Nestle workers in Perm, one of the company's factories, has said it will take up the fight for employees' rights, but it does not currently represent workers in Tuchkovo. The global campaign "STOP Nespressure" is stepping up its action in Russia, while the International Union of Food Workers has said it will fight for employees to keep their jobs and get salaries in time.

Nestle's premium chocolate brand in Russia