C&D to cut 53 jobs in Longford

Longford-based pet food manufacturer C&D Foods is to cut 53 full-time jobs from its plant in Edgeworthstown due to competitive pressures caused primarily by the weakness of sterling.

The redundancies are in addition to the 29 announced at the end of March. The company employs 283 people.

Philip Reynolds, managing director of C&D Foods, said the value of sterling had fallen by approximately 35 per cent with the UK accounting for almost 90 per cent of the company's market.

He said the management would meet with Siptu representatives tomorrow to discuss the redundancies as part of a 30-day consultation process regarding alternative employment, although Mr Reynolds stressed the decision on the job cuts was final.

No voluntary redundancy package will be paid as most of the staff have less than 2-years service, he said.

C&D Foods suffered a fire in 2006 that closed a large part of its operation.

Mr Reynolds said he had looked very carefully at the business and market three years ago and concluded it had a future.

While turnover at the firm had grown since the fire the collapse in the value of sterling had not been anticipated, he said.

The Irish operation, and Irish manufacturing more generally, had suffered an overall loss of competiveness and this was being compounded by the weakness of sterling. “We can see this very clearly by direct comparisons with our plant in York [England]”.

He said leaving political allegiances aside – he is the son of former taoiseach Albert Reynolds –

the cost of doing business was the only area where the Government could assist businesses struggling with the current downturn.

"It is clear to me that as a country we have become grossly uncompetitive. I would like to see the whole issue of the cost of doing business here addressed."

"We can see what it costs to run a business in York and that can can very quickly be benchmarked. The cost of doing business here needs to fall”.

C&D Foods is jointly-owned by Mr Reynolds and beef baron Larry Goodman.

In its most recent accounts for 2007, C&D Foods reported an operating profit of just under €4.5 million and a 45 per cent rise in turnover to €87.9 million.