Arla Foods has announced its proposal to cease production at Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK.
The dairy cooperative said it had spoken to colleagues affected by the proposals to crease production at the creamery, which is also known locally as Tuxford & Tebbutt.
Vice president of production at Arla, Fran Ball, said it is now entering into a “period of consultation” with those colleagues.
“Our priority right now is to support our colleagues impacted during this challenging period,” Ball said.
In January of this year, Arla Foods announced that it would be undertaking an operational review of Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK to search for a buyer.
The creamery currently employs around 60 people and remained operational during the review.
Arla Foods said that, during the review process, it would be “exploring the market” for any buyers of the creamery.
Ball said Arla is committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and understands that the announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team.
“Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer owned cooperative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners.
“Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK.”
