More than 120 jobs are se to be lost after dairy firm Arla Foods announced plans to close its North Yorkshire site.
Arla Foods, which has its head office in Leeds, is poised to shutter its site in Settle as part of a major Ƶ investment programme, which it says is to support its future growth ambitions. The farmer owned cooperative – owner of brands including Skyr, Barista, Bob and Cravendale – has proposed to invest almost £90m into its Lockerbie site in Scotland, to “future proof” its Ƶ production, through plans to create a centre of excellence for the production of UHT and Lactofree milk at the site.
While the investment in Scotland could create new roles in the area, the investment programme has triggered proposals to close the site at Settle, which has 128 workers, by the end of 2026. It says part of the proposal could also impact some colleagues based at Arla’s Stourton Dairy, near Leeds. However, the business does not envisage any redundancies for Stourton Dairy employees.
Arla said it has now entered into a collective consultation period with colleagues impacted by the proposal.
Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla Foods, said: “The proposals announced today form part of our strategy to strengthen our manufacturing network and futureproof dairy production in the Ƶ, and whilst this is an exciting announcement for Lockerbie our priority right now is to support our colleagues. At Arla we are committed to supporting everyone through periods of change and we understand that this will be a time of uncertainty for colleagues. We will be entering into a period of consultation with everyone affected by these proposals, announced today.”
Arla Foods Ƶ board director, and Arla farmer, Arthur Fearnall, said: “We are incredibly proud to see this significant investment proposed for Arla’s Lockerbie site. We’re excited to see how this progresses over the coming years as we continue to work together to ensure all Arla farmer owners receive the best price for their milk.”
The GMB union said it was launching urgent talks with the company to explore ways to save jobs.
Deanne Ferguson, GMB organiser, said: “If Arla’s proposal to close goes ahead, it will be a devastating blow for the dedicated workers at Settle and for the local community which relies on this key employer. It will have a significant economic and social impact. GMB will stand side by side with members to make sure they are fully supported throughout this difficult period.
“We will now begin urgent discussions with Arla to explore all possible options to protect jobs. We call Arla and all stakeholders to engage in full and transparent discussions about the future of the workforce and to consider all available alternatives to compulsory redundancies.”
