Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dairy giant Muller confirms closure of its Aberdeen depot

Post Thumbnail

Dairy giant Muller has confirmed the closure of its Aberdeen depot with the potential loss of 45 jobs.

The firm blamed declining consumption of fresh milk and significant changes in retailing for the decision, which follows a 30-day consultation.

Trade union Usdaw said staff were “devastated” by the decision, announced today.

Usdaw area organiser, Kate Cumming, said the union had interrogated the business case for the depot’s closure in a meaningful consultation process but regrettably no viable alternative was found.

“We continue to provide our members with support, advice and training to try to secure alternative employment.”

Muller Milk and Ingredients Distribution chief executive officer, Ian Smith, said the review concluded the Aberdeen depot was no longer viable due to customers choosing to get fresh milk deliveries from centrally located retail distribution centres, rather than through deliveries directly to stores.

He said the change would result in the creation of 22 new jobs in central Scotland and, where possible, affected employees will be offered the chance to relocate.

Mr Smith said: “We fully understand the impact of this decision on our colleagues in Aberdeen and we will do everything we can to support those who don’t want to relocate, or for whom there are no roles.

“Sadly, it is a reality that the distribution model for fresh milk has changed and if we’re going to operate a sustainable fresh milk business in the short and long term, benefitting the fresh milk sector as a whole, we must adapt.”

Politicians expressed disappointment at the news.

Aberdeen South MP, Ross Thomson, described the decision as a “bitter blow for the Muller workers and their families”, while North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said: “The sight of a few jobs created in the Central Belt while twice as many are lost in the north-east is depressingly familiar.”

Aberdeen South and North Kincardine MSP, Maureen Watt, meanwhile, said the move to centralise distribution of milk for supermarkets was short-sighted.

But she added: “Having talked to other employers in the Aberdeen area, I am confident that along with the support of the Scottish Government’s PACE team who are engaged with the workforce at Muller, the skilled workforce will find work in the local area.”

The news follows the closure of Muller’s milk processing facilities in Aberdeen in 2016 – a move that resulted in many of its farmer suppliers in the region having to pay 1.75p per litre of milk produced to get it transported to the central belt for processing.