US cheese giant tells Laois workers they may need to look for other jobs

Leprino cheese committed to Portlaoise plant hasn't ruled out compulsory redundancies

The Leprino cheese manufacturer in Portlaoise has circulated a letter amongst employees, explaining that redundancies may occur for the factory to increase efficiency.

The Leinster Express / Laois Live has seen two letters circulated to staff in early March and late April in which the Colarado headquarter firm sets out its plans to restructure the Portlaoise plant. The business also reveals to staff the potential implications for jobs due to a planned reduction of shifts at the J17 National Enterprise Park premises.

This most recent letter dated April 29 explains the redundancy terms being negotiated between SIPTU union representatives and management.

“During the first meeting it was agreed that the initial focus should be on agreeing the structure for the new shift pattern, clarifying working hours and shift premium,” the letter read.

Pictured: The Leprino cheese factory at Portlaoise Enterprise Park. Photo: Google Maps

“The Union also asked that we consider accepting expression of interests for voluntary redundancy, which we have agreed to. SIPTU asked that the redundancy terms offered would be above the statutory minimum, and again we have offered to enhance redundancy terms.

“Whilst the company has made proposals to SIPTU in relation to the above terms, unfortunately, nothing has been proposed from the union that would remove the need to consider making redundancies," it said.

As a result, the company said it wishes to meet with staff individually to "avoid the need to make compulsory redundancies".

The letter does add that a final decision has not been made in relation to the continued employment.

The company's earlier March letter outlined the rationale for the restructuring would be "to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs to support business growth" to ensure the business is "set up in the best way possible to face current and future challenges".

Leprino explained that all direct operator roles in production, processing and stores, and a number of indirect roles in ancillary and support functions, e.g. Quality may be affected by these changes. It said the roles that will not be impacted by this consultation include maintenance engineering and site service roles.

The mozzerella factory in Portlaoise during construction phase

“We will endeavour to provide clarity on exactly which roles are potentially affected as early in the process as we can,” Leprino has said.

Leprino offered employees the opportunity to discuss the impacts of these changes on an individual level, and any suggestions employees may have to avoid compulsory redundancies.

“We will also want to ensure that we have recorded accurate information regarding your skills and knowledge as well as your absence levels, as these may all form part of the selection criteria,” the letter read.

“We will also want to ensure that you fully understand the company announcement and how this relates to you, we will listen to any questions or concerns you have and explore alternative employment options.

“It is important to stress that this letter does not mean we have made a final decision in relation to your continued employment,” the letter finished.

Potential changes proposed include ‘the reduction of direct labour to move from a 4 shift annualised hours pattern, to a 3 shift annualised hours pattern that supports a maximum of 5.5 day working week’, and ‘the reduction in indirect roles associated with a simplified 5-day operation’.

Leprino has told employees that they hope that these changes will be complete by the end of May, and all those affected to be issued with a decision, subject to union agreement.

Leprino has expressed that they are aware that such messages are ‘rarely welcomed and can cause upset and worry’, and have offered HR support to workers.

Pictured: a worker in the former Glanbia factory. File photo

The factory are reconsidering the necessity of their ‘on call’ basis for their 2026 rota, with the removal of Sunday shifts. Due to the lack of requirements for Sunday shifts, the premium will be reduced to 27%.

The 2026 rota will also include an additional two hours per week, which will be applied to wages.

"The recommendations would mean a move away from the current 4 shift working pattern to a 3-shift scenario,” a spokesperson for Leprino told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"We’re discussing these proposals directly with our staff and working closely with union representatives through a full and open consultation process to align on the best approach.

"We’re committed to growing our business, and the state-of-the-art facility at Portlaoise – which was purpose-built in 2020 to make high quality mozzarella cheese – remains crucial to our strategy.

Pictured: Leprino's factory in Magheralin, Co. Down

"We are proud to be a contributor to the Irish economy as both an employer and supporter of Irish dairy," the Leprino representative finished.

Leprino EU, headquartered in Northwich, Cheshire, is part of the Leprino Foods Company of Denver, Colorado. Leprino Foods Company is a world leader in the production of premium-quality dairy food and ingredients.

The Portlaoise development, which was announced in July 2018, was the first big client to set up in the Laois County Council driven National Enterprise Park in Portlaoise.

It is located near the M7 Togher interchange on a new access road built by the Council that also links to the town's Clonminham Industrial Estate.

Glanbia previously said 100 people work at the plant and has a production capacity of 45,000 tonnes of mozzarella cheese per annum.

The 40,000-metric ton facility requires significant amounts of dairy ingredients - the equivalent of 400 million litres of milk a year to operate.

Leprino Foods employs approximately 5,500+ people worldwide and has global sales in over 79+ countries. The business' expanding international presence provides access to key markets across the globe.

This includes the EU and UK with plants in Llangefni, Wales; Magheralin, Northern Ireland; and Portlaoise in the Republic of Ireland.

In 2023, Glanbia sold full ownership of the factory to Leprino for €200 million.

The two firms partnered almost 50:50 in the Portlaoise plant which went into operation in April 2021 making pizza mozzarella cheese for the European market.