Arla Foods UK dairy closure

Related tags Arla foods uk Milk Dairy farming

Arla Foods UK, the company formed by the merger of Express Dairies
and Sweden's Arla Foods, will cut nearly 300 jobs at its Bamber
Bridge depot near Preston. The company claims that the closure is a
move towards rationalising milk production", writes Danny
Vincent.

Ever since the merger was announced in October last year, the former Express production facility had looked under threat, and the company has now confirmed that the depot will close in July.

Arla Foods UK said that the closure was part of its review of operational efficiencies throughout the group. Adrian Thompson, director of human resources, said: "All those affected by this announcement are being advised. The employees' trade union representatives are being consulted. Our intention is to give full support to affected staff to help them find alternative employment subject to the consultation process."

Arla Foods UK controls around 25 per cent of the UK milk market and employs approximately 2,200 people across the UK. It is the UK's largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative, and supplies one in five bottles of milk sold in supermarkets.

The Bamber Bridge dairy has been in operation since 1942 and Express Dairies moved into the site a decade ago. In October, Arla will open a new dairy in Leeds which it says will be the most technically advanced in Britain. The group will invest £20 million in the new site.

Rationalising production is something that Arla has been committed to since the merger. The company's chief executive Neil Davidson told Reuters: "The central feature of the merger was always rationalisation...There will be further job losses and we will be making another announcement in October."

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