Up to 170 full-time jobs are to be cut by Dairygold Co-op in Co Cork following a review of its transport operations.
The company envisages that drivers losing their jobs will, however, continue to work for it as private contractors. It has promised to assist the drivers in setting up independent transport companies and to provide them with "attractive" services contracts.
Drivers who choose not to take this option will be offered redundancy, while a small number of the 170 affected may be redeployed.
The decision to outsource its transport operations is the first major phase of a rationalisation programme which is likely to lead to further job cuts in the co-op, which currently employs about 3,200.
Unions representing the drivers, who were informed of the decision on Thursday night, have asked that a joint negotiating group be set up to address the issue. The company yesterday agreed to this request. "We want to make sure that everything is done in consultation with the workers," said a spokesman.
Dairygold's drivers collect the 190 million gallons of milk it processes annually, deliver bulk feeds and fertilisers and provide general transport services.
The company says that the seasonal nature of much of the work, however, makes its current transport operations inefficient and unsustainable.
