Lakeland Dairies has today, Friday, August 30, announced a plan for the adjustment of processing activities on its site in Monaghan.
This plan will see a number of strategic operations retained on the site. However, redundancies will also be necessary as some operations will be ceased or transferred to other processing locations.
Since the merger of LacPatrick Dairies and Lakeland Dairies was completed in April 2019, the new society has reviewed how best to integrate the functions of all sites in order to best support the 3,200 Lakeland Dairies farm families.
Prior to the merger, the Monaghan site, as part of the LacPatrick Dairies business, had significant and recurring losses.
The site has had little or no investment in processing capabilities over the years.
Michael Hanley, CEO of Lakeland Dairies, said:
“It is essential for us to realise efficiencies from within our merged group of processing facilities and to achieve sustainable profitability in the interests of our farm families on a long-term basis for the future.
After careful consideration, the board has approved this plan for the Monaghan town site which will reduce operating costs while providing for the continuation of strategic units for the business.
“Arising from this adjustment of operations, it is regrettably the case that a number of redundancies will be required in Monaghan and we will enter into consultation to discuss the roles that will be affected.
“We will also be providing details of any redeployment opportunities available in other parts of the Lakeland Group. Of the 130 jobs in Monaghan, there will be some 68 redundancies on the site, while some will be redeployed elsewhere within the Lakeland Group.
“Lakeland Dairies processes over 1.85 billion litres of milk annually and allocates this milk as flexibly and profitably as possible to different sites and into different product areas which are in the highest market demand, yielding the highest milk price, at different times throughout any given year.
While this development is difficult for everyone concerned, it is necessary to ensure we operate our business in the most efficient manner.
“It has been the core strategy of Lakeland Dairies to ensure that all sites are run as profitably as possible to ensure we are well-positioned to meet the demand of a competitive global dairy market while protecting the future of our 3,200 farm families.”