C&D management to outline firm's future

A plan for the future of C&D Foods Ltd is to be outlined to staff at a meeting this afternoon.

A plan for the future of C&D Foods Ltd is to be outlined to staff at a meeting this afternoon.

The pet food company was temporarily closed last month following a fire at its plant in Longford.

There were fears that no jobs would be saved after the Edgeworthstown factory was badly damaged on January 15th, but 173 of its 500 staff returned to work earlier this week.

At today's meeting, in the Longford Arms Hotel, C&D managing director Philip Reynolds will outline the short- to medium-term plan for the company.

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A company spokeswoman said the aim of the meeting is to see if more workers can be brought back in the short to medium term, over the next 18 months.

The company's findings of the possibilities for outsourcing production for existing contracts will also be outlined to staff, she said. "We are looking around to find capacity in other factories so that we can hold on to the contracts that we have. Outsourcing would be a short- to medium-term solution only."

She said a statement on the future of the plant would be issued as soon as discussions with staff are completed.

The fire was caused by an industrial accident. It is thought that a piece of equipment overheated and went on fire.

Fiona Gartland

Fiona Gartland

Fiona Gartland is a crime writer and former Irish Times journalist