Coolock Tayto factory set to close
24 June 2005 20:20
The Tayto crisps factory in Coolock in north Dublin is to close with the loss of 98 jobs. The plant has been in operation for nearly 40 years.
The move was announced today by the plant's owner C&C Group as part of a reorganisation of its snacks division which will see manufacturing of crisps transferred to another Irish company, Largo Foods, which already makes some of Tayto's brands.
Staff were told of the decision this afternoon and the company says meeting with unions have been arranged to discuss redundancy terms. Tayto, which was acquired by C&C in 1999, will continue to employ 166 people in sales, marketing and product development.
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C&C said the Irish snacks market was highly competitive with little overall growth, and it needed to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Tayto has around 41% of the market.
C&C said the reorganisation would lead to an exceptional charge of around ?10m in its current financial year.
Two years ago Tayto outsourced manufacturing at its Terenure plant in Dublin to Largo Foods. The company said today's move would allow it to focus on developing and marketing products for an increasingly competitive and health conscious snacks market.