Polish consolidation
200 layoffs: Mondelēz to streamline Irish choc plants and shut gumbase factory
The gumbase plant in Tallaght, County Dublin, will close in early 2016, leading to 45 full-time job cuts and the loss of 17 contracted roles. The company will produce gumbases in Poland, where it is consolidating gum manufacturing.
Chocolate restructuring
The firm also announced its Cooklock plant in Ireland would no longer produce wafer brands Time Out and Pink Snack by the end of the year, due to declining sales. The company is running an ‘efficiency programme’ at the Coolock and its chocolate crumb facility in Rathmore, which will lead to 160 job losses.
Phil Hodges, SVP Integrated Supply Chain for Mondelēz, said: “Our chocolate production costs in Ireland are currently more than twice that of Mondelēz factories in other locations, and we have to become competitive if we are to strengthen for the future.
The firm will invest €11.7m ($13.1m) on chocolate processing technology at its Cooklock plant to concentrate on core brands Cadbury Dairy Milk 8-square, Flake, Twirl and Boost.
Time Out review & Pink Snack axe
A Mondelēz spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews that Pink Snack, currently only on sale in Ireland will be discontinued.
“A review is being undertaken around Time Out and it is likely to be produced in Poland. No other brands are being ditched,” they said.
Mondelēz spits out Tallaght gum plant
Mondelēz said global gum demand had been in decline and the gum production technology at Tallaght lagged behind other plants.
Hodges said: “Our gum ingredient factory in Tallaght faces too many production cost challenges to be sustainable and, following the development of new, superior technology which is only suited for co-location with a finished gum plant, regrettably we see no alternative to the proposal to close this plant.”
In June 2013, Mondelēz announced it would close gum factories in Lebanon and Morocco and would move production to larger plants. Last year, it closed a gum factory in Botswana and shifted capacity to Poland.
A Mondelēz spokesperson said the company was consolidating gum production in Poland. The move forms part of the firm's supply chain efficiency program launched in 2013.
