Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Farmers union appeals to dairy giant to keep plant open as they try to save 89 jobs

Muller's site in Tullos, Aberdeen, is to close
Muller's site in Tullos, Aberdeen, is to close

A farmers union has appealed to dairy giant Müller to keep a closure-threatened Scottish milk processing plant open while it explores alternative options.

Bosses at the German firm are in the midst of a 45-day consultation with staff over the potential closure of its site in Aberdeen, where 89 jobs are on the line.

The company said the factory was only running at 38 per cent capacity and the milk being produced at the site was “far in excess” of customer requirements in the area.

The 43 farmers who supply the site have been given two choices should the plant close.

If they wish to continue supplying the business they face paying a 1.75 pence per litre ‘transport charge’ to have the milk shipped for processing at the firm’s Bellshill plant.

If they choose to skip the controversial ‘tanker tax’ then their contracts will be terminated within 12 months.

But NFU Scotland today asked for more time for a feasibility study into the viability of building a new plant in south Aberdeenshire to be completed.

Farming representatives want the Tullos plant in Aberdeen to remain open when the consultation period ends later this month in order for further research into the idea to be carried out.

Jean McLean, Milk Committee representative for the north-east said: “We have held various discussions in recent weeks with producers in the region as well as food manufacturers who have expressed an interest in helping to fill the void in processing capacity that could be left if Müller close the plant.

“As part of our discussions, we are lobbying MPs to get behind the union’s cause to convince retailers in Aberdeenshire to support local milk production and give a commitment to local sourcing if a local processing plant is established.

“There is a desire to preserve a strong milk field in the north-east, and we are striving to do everything in our power to make sure it has a viable future.

“We will continue to drive forward the feasibility study, and seek to work with Müller UK & Ireland to stress that there remains a justifiable case for a milk processing plant in the north-east.”

Müller announced at the start of last month that it was proposing to invest 15 million pounds over the next three years at Scotland’s largest fresh milk dairy at Bellshill.

But the firm said it would be also examining the possible winding down of milk processing at plants in Aberdeen and East Kilbride as part of the review of its Scottish network.

A total of 229 posts could be lost across the two sites.

If processing stops at the Aberdeen dairy, farmers supplying the site will be offered the opportunity to continue supplying the business, on the acceptance of a 1.75 pence per litre transport ‘tax’.

Müller said the fee reflects the need to move the milk to Bellshill for processing.

Farmers who do not wish to continue supplying the company will be given 12 months to make “alternative arrangements” before their contracts are terminated.

The case for the new plant is due to be presented to Müller bosses in due course.