Musgrave closes Galway depot with loss of 70 jobs
Musgrave is transferring operations at its Galway depot to Kilcock. Although this meant the loss of 70 full time jobs at Galway, the group says its created 55 new jobs at Kilcock.
Print17 March 2010
Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland announced the loss of 70 full time jobs at the beginning of the month due to the closure of its Galway depot. The 143 employees (125 full-time and 18 part-time) were told that the depot was transferring its operations to Kilcock which will create 55 new roles and the Galway employees are to have first option to transfer into these roles. A 30-day period of consultation with employees and their trade union representatives is ongoing. The re-organisation of its logistics network has resulted in the transfer of distribution activity from its Galway depot to its Kilcock and Cork sites.
Donal Horgan, managing director of Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland said: “Our decision today will result in a net job loss of 70 full-time jobs. This is a difficult time for all our colleagues on this site and our focus will be on assisting them as much as we can. A 30-day period of consultation will commence immediately with our employees and their trade union representatives. However, where transfer is not an option, we are putting in place a significant outplacement support programme.”
A spokesperson for the company said: “MRPI is doing everything it can to minimise the impact of this closure, including the transfer of the 55 roles to its Kilcock depot. It will also be instituting an extensive outplacement support programme for all impacted employees, as they transition to this location or seek alternative employment.
“MRPI and its retail partners in SuperValu and Centra are operating in an extremely difficult market, which has contracted by 7% in 2009. Competition is intense, with consumer demand for reduced prices increasing and shopping in Northern Ireland now a regular feature of the sector. During 2009, the company invested €235m in price reductions to deliver significant value to consumers. This ensured both SuperValu and Centra out-performed their respective markets last year, as consumers responded to the exceptional value offered by both brands. It also meant the average basket in SuperValu reduced by 9% over the year.
“We need to be as efficient as possible to ensure we can continue to deliver value to the consumer. The decision to move distribution from Galway was taken after a comprehensive review, which was carried out to identity cost-savings and efficiencies required to ensure that we could continue to provide enhanced value to consumers. Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland will now re-structure its logistics network from five to four depots.
“Following the closure of the Galway depot, MRPI will continue to employ 1,550 across four locations in Cork, Dublin and Kildare, with a further 30,000 people indirectly employed across the SuperValu and Centra store networks. Today’s decision will have no impact on the Musgrave Wholesale Partners cash and carry operation, located beside the Galway depot.”
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