Dairy major Saputo said 60 jobs could go at a UK factory in the south-west of England as it ends production of ingredients for infant-formula products.
The UK subsidiary of the Canada-headquartered dairy giant said the positions are at risk at its Davidstow Creamery in Cornwall, while another 20 jobs are on the line at other plants in the country.
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Saputo Dairy UK said in a statement provided to Just Food that it plans to discontinue manufacturing of demineralised whey (D90) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) at the site in the village of Davidstow due to “demographic shifts and changes in demand for different whey formats”.
The company will instead refocus operations on producing sweet whey powder.
“Market conditions are such that we are having to take difficult, but decisive actions to simplify the business and introduce meaningful efficiencies to ensure we are best placed for the future,” Saputo said in the statement.
Should the proposal move forward, approximately 80 redundancies are anticipated.
Asked where the remaining 20 positions would be cut, Saputo would only say “across the rest of the UK business”, declining to confirm to Just Food who the company supplies infant-formula ingredients to.
Chedaar cheese is also made at the same site, the Davidstow and Cathedral City brand owner clarified.
The dairy major said a decision was made in 2013 to focus on so-called “functional ingredients” such as sweet whey powder. “It is no longer in Saputo UK’s best economic interests to continue servicing the infant formula market,” the company said in the statement.
Saputo assured that the proposal will have no impact on its supplying farmers or cheese production.
The company will be “entering into a period of consultation” with affected employees and “will ensure that all employees who may be impacted by this proposal are well supported”.
The proposed changes are anticipated to be “completed by the end of September 2025”, the dairy heavyweight added.
In February, the Canada-based parent posted a sharp rise in third-quarter losses on the back of an impairment on its UK business.
The company, which also has operations across North America and in Australia, booked a loss of C$518m ($362.6m) for the three months to the end of December. A year earlier, Saputo had run up a loss of C$124m.
A “non-cash goodwill impairment charge” of C$674m linked to the group’s UK arm was central to the widening losses.
Meanwhile, Saputo has been closing of plants of late, mostly in the US and the UK, but also in Australia.
In January, Saputo announced plans to shutter a UK dairy facility in the north of England in the wake of another site closure in the south of the country.
The UK arm said it has started discussions with staff at its plant in the village of Kirkby Malzeard, located in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, where the Wensleydale cheese brand is produced.
In September last year, the company announced plans to shutter its King Island Dairy operation in Australia by mid-2025, impacting 58 employees.
In June, Saputo gave further details on its plans to shut down six of its US plants, two of which had already ceased operations, located in Belmont, Wisconsin, and Big Stone, South Dakota.
The other four were earmarked for closure sometime in the early part of this year – two in Wisconsin at Lancaster and Greenbay, and a pair of facilities in California located in Tulare and South Gate.
In 2023, Saputo UK announced the shuttering of its factory in Frome, Somerset, also in south-west England, which ceased operations in May last year impacting more than 150 jobs.
