Danone says too early to know if Irish jobs to be impacted by cuts

Danone’s Macroom site supplies 80% of the base powder used in Danone’s baby milk across Europe.

Danone has said it is too early to know if its baby food making business in Ireland will be impacted by group plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs globally.

The French company employs 700 people in Ireland across facilities in Macroom and Wexford and offices in Dublin.

A spokesperson for Danone Ireland said there is “a huge amount of granular detail” that needs to be worked through before the company can be more specific.

“We are in a study, based on a preliminary diagnosis. This will be part of our discussion with the unions when the study is completed and presented,” they said.

A spokesperson for trade union Unite, which represents staff at Danone’s Wexford subsidiary Nutricia, said it has had no intimations of job cuts locally. Union representatives for the Macroom facility could not be contacted.

Danone’s Macroom site supplies 80% of the base powder used in Danone’s baby milk across Europe, while in Wexford the company produces consumer packs of infant milk brands like Aptamil and Cow and Gate for Ireland and overseas markets, including China. Both sites have seen significant investment over the past decade.

Danone said it plans to cut 1,500-2,000 jobs globally – 400-500 of which are expected to be from its French operations – in an attempt to revive its profitability after being hit harder by the fallout from Covid-19 than many of its rivals.

The job cuts represent around 2% of Danone’s overall international staff.

Danone is also planning on cutting 10%-30% of its product range and will focus on faster growing and more profitable lines.

The company is also considering moving global headquarters for its various businesses closer to the base of its French operations in Paris. Annual cost savings should reach €1bn by 2023 after the measures.

The company has struggled for years to breathe life into its European dairy division despite introducing dozens of new products. Now with the pandemic, its bottled water division is reeling as restaurants shut down.

-additional reporting Bloomberg