Major employment boost for Kilkenny as Glanbia confirms 80 new jobs

FOOD giant Glanbia has announced it will create up to 80 new jobs at its Belview plant in south Kilkenny.

Confirmation of the new jobs will come as a huge boost to the region amid growing fears over the potential impact Brexit may have on food producing companies in the South East.

The 80 full time jobs confirmed today will be created as part of a new deal to build a new continental cheese manufacturing facility at Belview.

The new €140m plant will be commissioned by 2022 and will have a production capacity of 450 million litres of milk a year.

It is expected that a further 100 temporary jobs will be created during the construction phase.

Glanbia Ireland said milk used in the production process on site will be sourced from local suppliers and the cheese will be marketed and sold to global customers.

Glanbia Ireland chief executive Jim Bergin said the new partnership deal will create a new route to market for Glanbia Ireland suppliers’ milk.

“This proposed new investment is now required to diversify our product mix and to ensure that our suppliers have the opportunity to fulfil their growth ambitions,”Mr Bergin said.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed said the agri-food sector is the country’s largest indigenous industry supporting over 174,000 jobs across rural Ireland, from farms to food processing.

“Investments like this cheese manufacturing facility in Belview are a critical response to the challenges posed by Brexit, in terms of developing new products and new markets,” Minister Creed said in a statement.