Food processing co-op Dairygold is to transfer 120 of its staff from Mitchelstown and Mallow in North Cork to a new administrative base at Cork Airport. The co-op has shed more than 1,000 jobs over the past two years.
Traders in Mitchelstown, where the majority of the administrative staff are located, have described the move by Dairygold as an attempt to introduce redundancies by stealth.
The battle for survival by the troubled food co-op Dairygold is growing more acrimonious. Over the past two years the company has cut its workforce by a third with over 1,000 jobs have gone. This has hit Mitchelstown and Mallow hardest - they are the main town's in Dairygold's hinterland.
This afternoon Dairygold said it was transferring 120 administrative staff from Mitchelstown and Mallow to a new base at Cork airport roughly 30 miles away. Traders in both towns have reacted angrily to the move.
Dairygold insists it could not find suitable office space to accommodate the amalgamated offices in either Mitchelstown or Mallow. It said that talks with staff will begin immediately and the move is expected to be completed by January.
There may be more bad news coming down the tracks for Diarygold workers. The co-op's senior management is conducting a review of its dairy processing division.
The company operates four milk processing plants in north and east Cork, employing 500 people, and the review currently underway is expected to lead to rationalisation and the closure of some of these plants.
