AROUND 200 jobs are set to be lost in Lurgan after US cold storage giant Americold put dozens of staff on notice on Friday.
The company has confirmed the proposal to downsize its fleet and personnel at its base on Silverwood Road.
It's understood 192 staff will be made redundant with around 50 potentially offered new contracts as part of a restructuring process.
Staff were informed of the start of a three-month consultation on Friday. Those unable to attend the afternoon meeting were informed remotely.
The Lurgan business, which was originally set up by the Co Tyrone-based Sawyers family in 1970, had expanded to a fleet of 300 trailers when it was sold to the Atlanta-headquartered AGRO Merchants in 2015.
AGRO was in turn acquired by the fellow Georgia-based Americold group during 2020, in a deal worth around £1.35 billion.
The Irish News revealed in May 2022 that around 20 people were made redundant at the Lurgan site in a surprise restructuring move.
It's understood those let go included long-serving senior figures in the company.
The Americold operation on the island includes two major cold store hubs in Monaghan and one in Dublin.
In a statement, the company said: “Due to changes in customer demand, Americold has determined that we must restructure and right size our transportation business in Lurgan to align with anticipated transport flows going forward.
“We are proposing a downsizing in fleet and personnel and will be entering a period of consultation with all affected staff.
“It is expected that the consultation period will last no longer than 90 days.
“We will provide more information as we work through this transition period.”
