Repay our loyalty

Unite today (April 13) urged the Dublin-based drinks giant C&C to find a buyer for its Shepton Cider Mill in Somerset, which is set to close this summer with the loss of 120 jobs.

The closure follows C&C’s decision to move production to Clonmel, where around 80 jobs are expected to be created.

Warning that the closure of Shepton could spell the end to a 246-year tradition of cider-making, Unite regional coordinating officer Steve Preddy said that  iconic brands, such as Blackthorn and Olde English, coupled with a highly-skilled and motivated workforce should make the profitable Shepton site an attractive proposition for a buyer.

“Since buying the plant in 2009, C&C has profited from the association with Shepton, which has been synonymous with cider-making for centuries,” he said.

“It is unacceptable that the company should now decide to divest itself of the plant and its loyal workforce without a backward glance.

“Communities throughout Ireland have suffered the consequences of multi-nationals pulling out, leaving devastated communities in their wake.

“Unite members are therefore particularly disappointed that an Irish multi-national, such as C&C, should be effectively discarding not only the Shepton facility and its workforce, but also the long tradition of cider-making which made Shepton such an attractive location in the first place,” Preddy added.

“We are calling on C&C to repay the loyalty and hard work of the Shepton workforce by finding a buyer to take on the main Shepton site as a going concern – thus preserving a tradition of cider-making in the town stretching back to 1770.

“We believe that iconic brands, combined with a highly-skilled and motivated workforce, would make Shepton a very attractive proposition for a buyer.”

A recent trading update from the company expected the operating profit across its operations for the 12 months to February 29, 2016 to be in the region of €103 million (about £81 million). Full year results will be officially announced on May 11. The company’s annual general meeting is set for July 7.