Aurivo Co-operative Society Limited has announced that it is proposing to consolidate production at its Consumer Foods business.
The company is proposing to move liquid milk processing and packing from its facility in Sligo to Aurivo Consumer Foods in Killygordon, Co. Donegal. As a result, circa 30 operations positions at the Sligo site may be put at risk. A 30-day consultation programme has commenced with impacted employees.
Administration, sales and marketing functions of the consumer foods business will remain in Sligo and 10 additional production positions will be available at the Killygordon site. Redeployment, along with other employment opportunities within the co-operative, will be explored for employees affected by the proposal.
According to Aurivo, the liquid milk market is very competitive and the decision to propose consolidating activity was taken following an extensive review of production operations to identify specific measures to reduce costs, improve productivity and efficiency.
Aurivo Co-operative Society Ltd as a whole reported positive results for 2013. It announced turnover for the year increased by 11% to €454m, while operating profit at the farmer owned Co-op was also up a massive 199% to €5.25m. The co-op operates five diverse business units – Dairy Ingredients, Consumer Foods, Livestock Marts, Animal Feeds and Retail Stores- and this was the combined results for all businesses.
The Consumer Foods business is a separate company and the decision to propose consolidation was specifically due to the challenging trading environment in liquid milk and in order to reduce costs and improve efficiencies across the business.
