Coca Cola cuts could ‘be reduced by half’

Staff at the plant were left stunned last week when a 30 day consultation was announced as the company sought to reduce numbers by around 90.

However, a council delegation has met with management at the company, and they have been told the company intends to minimise the potential number of redundancies.

Alderman Paul Givan explained: “We met management and have engaged with the unions and it seems to be quite positive. The company wants to look at other options to minimise redundancies and assured us they are committed to the plant at Knockmore. That almost £100m investment is something not at risk, but they need to make some changes to the business to continue to be an efficient plant.

“There are a number of options for staff at risk. One is to widen the offer of redundancy. They have a workforce of over 600, maybe some people in the wider workforce may take early retirement and potentially reduce the number of people made redundant.”

Mr Givan continued: “Another option is to transfer staff to a haulage firm. We are seeking assurances around that as to how long they will have their terms and conditions guaranteed for. There would be 45 staff in that transfer, with guaranteed terms and conditions, and that could reduce the number of people made redundant although we recognise that Coca Cola are a good employer.”

Alderman Givan said that a meeting is currently being arranged between Coca Cola, which he will attend with Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson and  MLA Edwin Poots within the next few days.

He said he hoped to have more information following that discussion, with Coca Cola currently looking at two potential companies to carry out their haulage for them.

“They haven’t chosen who it will be, but one of the criteria is that it should be a Lisburn based company. Also, in the tender it was stipulated that they would allow the transfer of staff from Coca Cola and that their terms and conditions would be protected under Tupe (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations), we have to find out how long that is for, although it is likely to be a year.”

He added; “The other element of staff affected are at managerial level and there is an administrative impact, as the way people order their goods is no longer paper intensive; the nature of the business has changed. We were also told that 12 of the 90 jobs under threat are based in Omagh.”

Mr Givan said that so far the company has looked at job posts, with no individuals having been identified. He said that at the end of the 30 day consultation period it will become clear who is directly impacted.

He continued; “The Managing Director Marcel Martin explained that the market has changed and they have to respond to that. This change has not affected the level of production, but the way people buy the product has changed, rather than buying a tin, people are buying a two litre bottle and are looking for value. This reduction in income has affected the bottom line. They have revised their profit margin to try and minimise job losses. As he explained, sometimes you have to have surgery to ensure the long term sustainability.

“Ultimately they will ensure Knockmore is the most efficient plant as can be to ensure its viability.”

[email protected]