The Kilkenny-headquartered co-op, Tirlán, has confirmed that 150 jobs are likely to go across the organisation as a result of a new “cost reduction programme”.
As part of this programme the co-op plans to offer a voluntary redundancy scheme to its employees.
It has however stated that this will not impact on its milk processing capabilities.
The Kilkenny headquartered co-op today (Thursday, June 20) confirmed that following a business review it will launch a cost reduction programme to “enhance its long-term competitiveness”.
Tirlán has indicated that its key aim is to achieve cost savings throughout the business.
It is understood that the review identified a need for the co-op to actively manage its costs base.
Like many businesses currently Tirlán is facing increased pressure to manage costs in key areas including energy, interest rates, wages and environmental compliance.
But one key issue also facing Tirlán and other co-op’s at this time is a decline in milk supply volumes.
Domestic milk intake was down by 365 million litres in 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) confirmed that supply has also been back across Ireland this year and that is predominantly due to weather conditions.
Dairygold previously confirmed that it will reduce cheese production due to a drop in milk volumes.
Tirlán
The Kilkenny-headquartered co-op has said that it has “made the difficult but necessary decision” to offer a voluntary redundancy scheme across the organisation to secure cost savings.
It has indicated that approximately 150 roles may be impacted.
It is understood that the co-op’s milk processing capabilities will remain “unchanged, and Tirlán will retain the ability to increase milk processing capacity if there are changes in milk supply dynamics”.
The co-op has said that the cost reduction programme will position Tirlán strongly” against future challenges and allow continued focus on product innovation and growth in value-added products”.