Staff to leave Crudgington Creamery next month
Workers will leave Dairy Crest's Crudgington Creamery in Shropshire next month, according to union officials.
The USDAW union has been told that "a proportion" of staff will depart in a matter of weeks, marking the start of the plant's closure.
Dairy Crest has not revealed when it will completely shut.
In September 2012, Dairy Crest announced plans to close the Crudgington factory within 18 months, risking its 161 jobs.
The move is part of a cost-cutting exercise which could see about 50 jobs transferred to Kirkby in Liverpool.
Dairy Crest transferred production of Clover butter from Crudgington to Kirkby in 2012, with the loss of about 90 jobs.
Earlier this year Dairy Crest announced that office workers across all of its branches will receive a share of a bonus pool worth £2.5 million after it secured a top price sale for one of its London milk depots.