A Fife dairy is to close with the loss of up to 67 jobs, it’s been confirmed.
Following a 30-day consultation with staff, Robert Wiseman Dairies announced it will close its distribution depot at Cupar.
Workers will be offered the chance to transfer to other sites, but the closest are in Whitburn, in West Lothian, and Aberdeen. Staff and unions had hoped to persuade the firm, which provides almost a third of the nation’s milk, to retain the plant.
Negotiations continued past last Friday’s consultation deadline in an attempt to find a solution. But the firm said it had been unable to establish economic grounds for continuing the operation.
Confirmation of the closure, after 15 years in Cupar, cast a cloud over the community. North East Fife MSP Iain Smith said, “I am extremely disappointed by this decision and am concerned for the workers affected by this news which is a devastating blow to them and to the local economy.
“The Scottish Government must act quickly and co-ordinate a jobs taskforce which should identify alternative employment opportunities and retraining for the workers affected and look into alternative uses for this important site.”
The decision followed a strategic review the company said was prompted by changes in customers’ requirements and the loss of key contracts served by the depot. Simultaneously, the firm announced the closure of another depot in Okehampton, Devon, where the same number of people are employed.
Distribution of milk from Cupar will transfer to the Whitburn and Aberdeen depots during April.
Robert Wiseman Dairies group operations director Martyn Mulcahy said, “Staff, management and unions worked extremely hard to find ways of addressing the challenges facing the depot, but we have been unable to establish an economic basis for continuing to distribute milk from Cupar.”
Founded in East Kilbride in 1947, the firm has seven dairies and 15 distribution depots across the UK, employing more than 4800 staff.