Müller dairy closures a ‘devastating blow’: union
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) said today’s (May 31) announcement, which followed extensive consultation with the business in an attempt to secure jobs, was a major disappointment for the company’s “loyal and hardworking staff”.
Usdaw remained particularly concerned at the “potentially premature” nature of the decision regarding the East Kilbride site – where 131 jobs will be lost – given that Müller didn’t anticipate it closing for up to another 24 months.
The union said it had secured a commitment from the business that a formal dialogue would continue at East Kilbride during this time, as it claimed there were “a number of issues where further discussion is required”.
‘Extensive local consultation’
Daniel Adams, Usdaw national officer, said: “After extensive local consultation with the business in an attempt to secure jobs, today’s news is a devastating blow for the loyal and hardworking staff in Aberdeen and East Kilbride.
“Usdaw will continue to support our members at both sites and to press the company to maximise redeployment opportunities to minimise job losses and provide support for those members who are unable to find alternative positions within the business.”
The Aberdeen dairy is expected to close this month, with the loss of 87 jobs. A further seven jobs will be lost at Müller’s Aberdeen depot.
Andrew McInnes, md of Müller Milk & Ingredients said that where possible, the company would offer employees the opportunity to relocate to fill job roles within its network.
He explained: “We will support those who do not wish to relocate or for whom there are no roles within our business and we have asked local agencies to work with us in this regard.”
McInnes added that both the East Kilbride and Aberdeen dairies were operating well below capacity.
“By investing in Bellshill we will be better able to optimise the value in the milk we buy from dairy farmers.”
Aberdeen dairy opportunity
Müller has agreed to offer all 43 farmers supplying the Aberdeen dairy the opportunity to continue supplying the business conditional to a 1.75 pence per litre charge, which reflected the cost of transporting the milk they produced from Aberdeen to Bellshill for processing.
Farmers who do not wish to continue supplying Müller would avoid this transport charge and their contracts will terminate on expiry of 12 months’ notice, giving them time to make alternative arrangements for their milk production.
In today’s announcement, Müller also confirmed it will invest £15M in its dairy at Bellshill to create a fresh milk and ingredients ‘centre of excellence’.
The investment over the next three years will include a new cream filling hall, high-speed production lines, expansion of site processing capabilities and investment in site infrastructure to modernise the dairy and improve efficiencies and competitiveness, while giving the dairy the capability to broaden the range of products it is able to make.
Müller said it would continue to investigate further opportunities to grow its business in Scotland as it sought to build a diverse dairy business in the UK.
