The Coca-Cola bottling companies in Ireland may be moved into one single production and warehousing site under management proposals.

The main decision facing the companies is whether to locate in the Republic or north of the Border.

The 1,120 staff at the two bottling companies - Coca Cola Bottlers Ireland (CCBI) and Coca-Cola Bottlers Ulster (CCBU) - have been informed of the plans and a consultation process has begun. CCBI and CCBU between them employ 1,120 people in bottling plants in Dublin (Naas Road) and Lisburn (Lambeg) and depots in Galway, Cork, Killarney, Tipperary, and Omagh.

The companies declined to comment publicly on the implications for jobs at this stage, but privately sources played down the prospect of any large-scale job losses.

A statement said if plans to set up a centralised site went ahead a a major investment could be in the offing.

A statement said: "Following a comprehensive review of all the business activities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland over the past 15 months, CCBI and CCBU informed employees of the opportunity to re- organise main production, bottle-making and bulk warehousing into a state-of-the-art single site."

The management statement said a single site would enable Coca-Coca's bottling operations in Ireland "to grow and build", requiring an investment which would be "very considerable".

"A consultation period starts today as management and unions meet to discuss the future plans," it added.

CCBI and CCBU are Irish subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Plc, which has its headquarters in Athens, Greece.