Armagh-based Linwoods has announced that it is restructuring its business, ceasing its van distribution business, with the loss of 90 full-time jobs out of a total workforce of 250 full-time employees.

The change means Linwoods will stop supplying liquid milk, and will stop all non-contracted bakery work, effectively allowing the business to concentrate on contracted bakery production and on its health food operations, to include seeds, nuts and other healthy snacks.

On the dairy side, Linwoods is understood to have around 12 direct farmer suppliers, giving it a milk pool of around 13m litres.

We have had to react to a change in the requirements of our market

In a text to these suppliers sent today, the company has indicated that the milk pool and retail milk business has been acquired by LacPatrick Dairies, which has committed to maintain the current Linwood pricing structure until the end of 2018.

It is expected that this business will transfer over to LacPatrick from 1 May.

John Woods, joint managing director of Linwoods, said: “This is obviously a very difficult decision for our company today and our priority is our people. We will do all that we can to make this process as smooth as we can for them and their families.

“Linwoods has been a business at the heart of the Co Armagh community for a long time and in order to continue to do this we have had to react to a change in the requirements of our market.

Our customers’ buying habits have changed

“Our customers’ buying habits have changed and we have seen the demand for 800g white bread falling dramatically in recent years. When this is combined with the increasing costs for distribution of our bakery and dairy products, it has become a wholly unviable prospect for the future of our business.

“In comparison to this our health food business is growing and continues to be successful around the world. Our focus and our investment will now be placed on this side of the business.”

Read more in this week’s Irish Farmers Journal.

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