70 jobs go at Kerry Foods Wicklow plant

STAFF AT a Kerry Foods plant in Shillelagh, Co Wicklow, were told by management yesterday that the company is seeking to cut 70 jobs. The plant makes meat products and currently employs 820 people.

The company said that like all other enterprises, there were significant industrial and competitive pressures at the moment.

“We must maintain efficiencies with the downturn and must with regret seek 70 voluntary redundancies,” Frank Hayes, director of corporate affairs at the Kerry Group told The Irish Times.

Some of the plant’s output was going into the UK market and weakening sterling “made the landscape more competitive”, Mr Hayes said.

The plant opened at a greenfield site in the mid-1990s and business and employment at the site have grown since. Kerry Foods said there was no danger to the long-term viability of the Wicklow enterprise.

“The plant is a leading producer of added-value meat products, which are household names, so there is no danger to the business in the medium to long term,” Mr Hayes said.

Consultation on voluntary redundancies began yesterday. The company hopes to begin one-on-one consultations with its employees in “the next week or so”.

Labour TD for Wicklow, Liz McManus described the job losses as devastating.

She said the live register in nearby Arklow was almost at 3,000. This meant that any loss of jobs in south Wicklow was extremely serious.

She described Kerry Foods as an important local employer that provided a real boost to the local economy when there wasn’t any big employer around.

Fine Gael TD for Wicklow Billy Timmins said the loss of jobs was regretful because Kerry Foods was a very good employer in the Wicklow area.

“I hope there won’t be any more redundancies and am confident the remaining workforce will keep their jobs,” he said.

The Shillelagh site is involved in the cutting of fresh pork for further processing, the manufacture of cooked meats (bulk and sliced), sausages (raw and cooked) and the slicing of bacon.

Denny is among the best-known meat brands produced by Kerry Foods.

The south Wicklow area received a jobs blow last year when pharmaceutical and medical device company Allergen announced it was to close its Arklow plant by June this year with the loss of 360 jobs.