Coca-cola plans move to hi-tech facility

ABOUT 1,000 Coca-Cola Bottlers employees in Dublin, Louth and Antrim were last night told by the company of its intention to consolidate production and warehouse operations at a greenfield site.

Workers, employed by the Coca-Cola Bottling Companies in Ireland Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland (CCBI) and Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster (CCBU), were told about plans for a multi-million euro manufacturing facility that will consolidate production from three separate locations in Dublin, Greenore and Lisburn.

The company refused to discuss job security issues and potential redundancies arising out of what the company described as "the opportunity for future investment in Ireland under a proposal to reorganise their supply chain processes."

The company said that following a comprehensive review of all the business activities in the Republic and the North over the past 15 months, CCBI and CCBU informed employees of the opportunity to reorganise main production, bottle-making and bulk warehousing into a state-of-the-art single site.

A company spokesman, when pressed, agreed that despite the fact this process has taken 15 months they have not identified a single site at this stage.

He could not say even if it would in the South or North.

The managing director of both CCBI and CCBU Alfie Lydon, in a statement, said: "Coca-Cola Bottlers have been in the island of Ireland for the past 70 years. What we are announcing today is the opportunity to take a decision with our employees that will ensure Coca-Cola Bottlers continue our success in Ireland for the next 70 years."

CCBI and CCBU between them employ 1,120 people in Ireland and have production facilities at Dublin (Naas Road) and Lisburn (Lambeg).

The Irish companies own and operate a PET bottle manufacturing company, PanPak, at Greenore, Co Louth. PanPak employs 96 people and those jobs are also under threat.

Depots in Galway, Cork, Killarney, Tipperary, and Omagh are not affected by the reorganisation plan.