Warning changes at Lakeland Dairies will put 72 jobs at risk

Plans by Lakeland Diaries, the Cavan-headquartered dairy processing co-operative, to alter production schedules at its Banbridge facility in Co Down will put 72 jobs at risk, politicians in the North have warned.

Lakeland Dairies has confirmed it intends to switch production at Banbridge to a "seasonal processing schedule from September onwards".

The Cavan based co-op acquired the Banbridge plant in May from Fane Valley Dairies.

At one stage, it had an annual turnover of more than £100 million a year but had suffered major set backs in recent years from the marked down turn in global dairy markets.

A spokesman for Lakeland Dairies said on Thursday that the group’s decision to move to seasonal processing was not uncommon in the dairy industry.

Lakeland already operate a similar approach at its milk powder plant in Lough Egish, Co Monaghan, and a Casein plant in Killeshandra, Co Cavan.

The spokesman added: “Lakeland Dairies processes over 1 billion litres of milk annually and it needs to allocate this milk as flexibly and profitably as possible to different sites and into different product areas which are in the highest market demand, to yield the highest milk price at different times throughout the year.”

Lack of investment

He said that because of a lack of investment in the processing capability of the Banbridge plant in recent years it was only able to make products he said had a “limited market demand at certain times of the year”.

Lakeland has said the move to seasonal processing would result in “temporary lay-offs and potential redundancies” but it hopes these can be carried out on a voluntary basis.

It also intends to explore redeployment wherever possible.

Lakeland Dairies also owns Pritchitts, a food service business in Newtownards in the North.

But the Ulster Unionist MLA Jo-Anne Dobson and Armagh city, Banbridge and Craigavon borough councillor Glenn Barr have called on Northern Ireland Ministers to intervene to help Lakeland Dairies workers whose jobs are now at risk.

Mrs Dobson said: “This announcement from management has come as a body blow to staff who are going through a difficult and uncertain time. Just three months ago the staff at the creamery had been told that their jobs were secure when Lakeland purchased the facility from Fane Valley.”