Ornua Ingredients Europe (OIE) has announced a proposal to close its cheese manufacturing and formatting operation in Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK.
The proposal to close the facility comes after a comprehensive strategic review of OIE’s manufacturing footprint, according to the company.
OIE Ledbury produces formatted natural and processed cheeses for the food manufacturing, foodservice and global QSR (quick service restaurants) sectors.
The site has six production lines, including line four, where the Consistent Shred branded pizza cheese is produced. The site is also home to Ornua Ingredients Europe’s centre of excellence for innovation.
In a statement, Ornia said: “Ledbury’s processing capacity is under-utilised, and the facility requires significant capital investment to maintain production moving forward.
“It is anticipated that if the proposal goes ahead, production will cease in Ledbury no later than the end of June 2025.”
The majority of production will be transferred to OIE’s sites in Nantwich, Cheshire and Avila, Spain.
Ornua has confirmed that the business will now commence a statutory 45-day consultation period with the around 115 employees potentially impacted.
“The closure proposal has been carefully considered and is not a reflection of the hard work, dedication and commitment of everyone employed at Ledbury,” the statement added.
The proposed closure is not expected to impact other OIE sites or the Ornua Foods site in Leek, Staffordshire.
Other Ornua plans
Last month, it was revealed that Ornua is moving additional dairy products into the US market ahead of any possible increase in import tariffs by US president-elect Donald Trump.
Conor Galvin, chief executive of Ornua, confirmed the move at the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Galvin said that there is the potential for a “blanket tariff” on all imported goods into the US, that could lead to “conflict” with other trading blocs, “which is nobody’s interest”.
He noted that Ireland and the wider European Union are not currently named as potential locations where an increased tariff could be applied.
Galvin said that Kerrygold is a premium product which is currently the number two butter brand in the US.
