Robert Wiseman Dairies has confirmed it will close two of its sites, making 134 staff redundant.
The company will close its dairy at Okehampton in Devon as well as a distribution depot at Cupar in Fife. The closures follow a 30-day consultation period with staff, which started on 26 January.
Most of the production at Okehampton will now transfer to Wiseman’s state-of-the-art, 500m-litre-a-year processing plant in nearby Bridgewater.
Group operations director Martyn Mulcahy said the company had tried hard to bring costs at Okehampton “into line with dairies elsewhere in our network” but had ultimately been unable to establish an “economic basis” for keeping Okehampton open.
“We very much regret the impact that this decision will have on the area and will provide assistance to those who will be affected,” he added.
“It is our hope that some staff at Okehampton might consider taking up positions available elsewhere in our network of dairy and distribution facilities and we will provide support should staff wish to take up this option.”
Read more
Wiseman asks for a 5ppl milk price hike (26 February 2011)
Robert Wiseman starts talks with 150 workers as sites face the axe (29 January 2011)
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