IRISH beef processors have started laying off their workers in Ireland and Britain in response to the collapse in demand for beef.
Over 500 meat factory workers have been laid off or put on protective notice because of the uncertainty caused by the BSE controversy. Many more are at risk in the North. These include over workers at Galtee Meats plant in Charleville, Co Cork, owned by Dairygold Co op and 180 workers at Meadow Meats in Rathdowney, Co Laois, part of Dawn Meats.
Another 160 workers at Irish Country Meats in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, owned by Avonmore Foods, and 100 workers at Tara Meats in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, have also been put on protective notice or laid off, according to SIPTU. Industry sources said yesterday that the number of workers put on protective notice could be substantially higher than those notified to SIPTU.
Over 10,000 people are employed beef processing, with thousands more employed in related industries such as transport.
Irish Food Processors, the former Goodman Group, has stopped beef slaughtering at four of its British plants and laid off 300 workers, while processing at Dawn Meat's Scottish plant has slowed to a trickle, according to the managing director of Waterford based Dawn, Mr Dan Brown.
Kepak, the second largest Irish beef processor, declined to comment yesterday. However, British industry sources said that activity at its British beef plants was also curtailed.
Irish Food Processors has four dedicated beef processing plants in Britain and one beef and lamb plant in Scotland. It also has a dedicated lamb plant and a packing plant in Britain. In line with the rest of the industry the company has stopped slaughtering beef in Britain and this has led to the laying off of 300 out of its 1,400 strong workforce. The company may have to make further layoffs. The Transport and General Workers Union in Britain estimates that 6,500 beef industry workers will be laid off or put on short time by today.
Over half of IFP's turnover of £750 million is derived from its British operations. However, the peak slaughtering period is the second half of the year.
Kepak's British operations account for around a third of its £300 million turnover.
A number of smaller British abattoirs and beef processors have already shut down as a result of the BSE crisis. However, sources close to IFP claim the group has the financial strength to ride out the crisis. IFP was formed last year out of the Goodman Group and its shareholders include the McCann family, which controls the fruit company Fyffes, as well as a number of other wealthy businessmen from the north east. "They are not the sort of people to blink," said one source.
Beef processing at Irish plants has slowed dramatically since the start of the present crisis, with some plants reported to be operating on at two day week.
The largest single market for Irish beef is Britain which takes more than £200 million worth of the Republic's annual beef exports of £950 million.
While the decision of some countries to review the acceptability of live imports from Ireland should help Irish meat producers it is also adding to the general uncertainty in the market. "A lot of plants are simply completing existing orders and awaiting developments", says Mr Jimmy Somers, vice president of SIPTU, the union which represents the bulk of meats factory workers in the Republic.
Steps needed to be taken, he added, to ensure that EU standards were applied to the Northern Ireland herd. "This is a small island and many consumers will not differentiate between beef from one part of it or the other.
"We are clean. Irish beef is safe and that message has to get through."
He said that Irish workers were blameless in Ireland's various meat industry debacles and should not have to pay for other people's mistakes. See page 3
