18 jobs to go in yoghurt plant

YOGHURT production is to cease at Dairygold’s CMP plant in Cork city with the loss of 18 jobs, the co-op announced yesterday.

Dairygold said it is to outsource its entire yoghurt production requirement for manufacture to Town of Monaghan Co-op.

Outsourcing the yoghurt production, which accounts for less than 1% of Dairygold’s milk intake, will begin next month.

The co-op said the 18 Dairygold CMP employees affected by the decision will be offered the severance package agreed last October by union and management representatives on a joint negotiation forum.

Tim Healy, Head of Dairygold’s Milk Processing Ireland (MPI) Division, said the co-op lost money on its milk processing operations in 2002 and 2003 and will continue to lose money for the first quarter this year.

The rationalisation programme underway is designed to return Dairygold to profitability, and in doing so protect the maximum number of sustainable jobs in the society.

Where it is unable to produce competitively, it will look to contract outsourcing and selling or shutting aspects of its operation.

“Dairygold is not in a position to produce its yoghurt products competitively at this time and outsourcing makes good commercial sense.

“Moving production to Town of Monaghan and controlling our requirement from that facility will improve Dairygold’s profitability in this area.”

Mr Healy said the decision to outsource yoghurt production was taken in the best interests of Dairygold’s future viability and they were confident the redundancy package on offer will appeal to the CMP staff.