Müller Milk & Ingredients, which operates in England and Wales, has said that it is placing a foodservice delivery operation, which supplies fresh milk and other products to 3,000 non-residential customers in England and Wales, ‘under review’.
The business said that it has instigated a 45-day review and consultation period, with some 250 roles at risk of redundancy. According to Müller, the business is losing around £5 million per annum.
It will assess whether its foodservice customers, which include workplaces, restaurants, pubs, bakeries and contract caterers, can be better serviced in other ways by Müller or by alternative providers.
It noted that the Milk & More household and educational business is not being affected by the review process.
‘Clearly Unsustainable’
“Whilst the Müller Milk & Ingredients food service operation is a very small part of our overall business, it is vital that it is profitable and viable,” said Andrew McInnes, managing director at Müller Milk & Ingredients. “It is clearly unsustainable in its current format.
“We would therefore like to take this time to assess the role and fit of this part of our business within our wider strategy for the future, and determine whether there are better and more sustainable ways to supply the needs of our smaller food service customers.”
The foodservice delivery operation was acquired two years ago as part of the Dairy Crest dairies business, and represents less than 2% of the company’s turnover, Müller added.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
