A further 100 colleagues are set to be temporarily laid off at ABP Cahir as of today, Friday, September 20, ABP has announced.
This is in addition to the 355 employees who were temporarily laid off earlier this week, the meat processor revealed.
In a statement on the matter this morning, ABP said that “this regrettable action is a direct result of the ongoing illegal blockades at the site by seven protesters”.
The protesters’ illegal actions are now putting all jobs at ABP Cahir at risk, as well as the livelihoods of 1,300 farmers who supply cattle to the site. The illegal blockade has cost these local suppliers in the region of €6 million.
The processor warned that the ongoing protest is also having a significant impact on other local businesses.
It added that an estimated €5 million a week is being lost to the local economy in wages, cattle payments and fees to third-party contractors.
An economic impact study carried out by Oxford Economics showed ABP Cahir’s operations also support a further 1,048 local jobs, and now these too are being impacted by the illegal blockade, a company representative said.
“Customers are also being let down, and hard-won international contracts are being jeopardised as these valued customers are forced to source beef elsewhere,” the spokesperson said.
ABP has expressed its dismay that, after an agreement was reached, illegal blockades remain in place at Cahir and other processing sites across the country.
Since the commencement of the blockades ABP now has had to temporarily lay off 1,463 staff across the country.