Whitchurch's Ornua dairy site to close

The firm, which is based at Waymills Industrial Estate, is set to transfer the production currently undertaken there to its nearby Nantwich cheese ingredients facility.

Ornua said it anticipates the majority of the 90 people employed at Whitchurch will transfer to the Nantwich facility.

The firm said it follows a major review of its European ingredients operations, adding the move is being proposed to optimise and streamline production facilities.

The proposal to cease operations at Whitchurch was announced to staff this week by senior management.

The business will commence a statutory consultation period with employees potentially impacted to discuss ways of avoiding the proposed closure, ways to reduce the number of redundancies that will potentially occur as a result and what other support and assistance can be provided to those potentially affected.

Review

Joan Bombardo, managing director of Ornua Ingredients Europe, said: “It is with much regret, that we have announced our proposal to cease operations at our Whitchurch site and transfer the production to our nearby, well-invested Nantwich cheese ingredients facility.

"The proposal follows a major review of our business which concluded that by simplifying and consolidating our production facilities we will be more streamlined, more customer focused and be able to respond more effectively to market opportunities.

"It is important to stress that the proposed closure is not a reflection of the hard work and commitment of those employed at Whitchurch.

"We know that the announcement and forth-coming consultation will be unsettling, and we will work hard to keep colleagues informed of the process.”

Ornua operates from 19 business units worldwide, including 14 production facilities.