Glanbia will not rebuild factory destroyed by fire

The food producer Glanbia Meats has announced that it will not reopen its pigmeat processing factory in Roosky, Co Roscommon, …

The food producer Glanbia Meats has announced that it will not reopen its pigmeat processing factory in Roosky, Co Roscommon, which was destroyed by fire last year.

The company announced this evening that it will restore the lost capacity by investing €27m in expanding its existing plants at Edenderry, Co Offaly and Roscrea, Co Tipperary.

Overall, the expanded processing facilities will create 150 jobs at the two sites. However, with voluntary redundancies on offer to staff affected by last year's fire, the total number of jobs lost will be around 190, Glanbia said.

In a statement, the group said it had intended to rebuild the destroyed plant but it had proved "un-economic" to do so.

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The group said it remains committed to its cannery facility in Roosky, which employs 95 staff.

John Madden, chief executive of Glanbia Meats Ireland, said: "The Roosky fire was devastating for everybody involved and we were determined to rebuild the facility. Regrettably that has not been a viable option despite the extensive investigations made by the company.

"I am confident the solution we have arrived at offers the best long-term job security for our remaining employees, and for our producers."

Mr Madden said he wished to thank the staff at Roosky who had given such loyal service to the company over many years and said he assured them the decision was not taken lightly.