Tayto faces strike action as jobs threat emerges

Staff at the Tayto manufacturing plant in Tandragee have been told that up to 80 of them may lose their jobs.

Staff union, Unite, learned of the threat to jobs from the company’s owners, Manderley Food Group, and is now threatening to take strike action.

A Tayto spokesperson confirmed this week that the company was not in formal consultation with staff regarding redundancies, but admitted that there was “a strong possibility” that this option would have to be considered:

“Two years ago, Tayto Group had an outstanding year, which was reflected in the figures recently published, but this financial year has been more difficult and while things are picking up, business is down,” he added.

“Production costs in Tandragee are considerably higher than at any of our other sites, which are all in England. Only £25m of or £180m turnover comes from Tandragee. In addition, much of our raw material cannot be sourced locally and has to be brought in from GB and beyond. It is processed at the County Armagh factory and then 60 per cent of what we produce is shipped back for sale in GB.”

The spokesperson said that the Hutchinson family and the Tayto Group management were extremely proud to be part of such a successful company and had no intention of ceasing production at the Tandragee site altogether.

“However, it could be that in the future, we will be forced to restrict production here to what is sold in Northern Ireland in order to ensure the continued success of the company and to make best use of our resources,” he added.

However, Sean McKeever of Unite said that the Manderley Food Group appeared intent on maximising its profits regardless of the cost to the workforce:

“This is only the latest in a series of blows to workers,” he added. “It comes only days after they attempted to justify not paying the new National Living Wage by counting a monthly bonus payment made entirely separately to the basic wage.

“This is disgraceful behaviour from a group who announced pre-tax profits for 2015 of more than £7m. The four directors of this company, including the wealthy Hutchinson family members, were paid more than £1.7m last year in director fees alone and their wealth was estimated in the 2016 Rich List at £67m.

“This latest announcement leaves Unite with no option but to ballot our members for strike action. It is likely that any strike action will cause significant disruption to the production of Tayto crisps but also, own-brand products for the multiples,” added Mr. McKeever.