Dutch dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina’s investment in enhancing production capacity, quality improvements and safety at production facilities will now result in job cuts at its Beilen and Leeuwarden facilities over the next three years.

The company had invested on increasing efficiency and reducing costs at these two facilities in anticipation of the end of milk quotas at the beginning of the year.

As a result, the company is now considering axing between 210 and 230 jobs out of the current workforce of 767 at its Beilen facility. Another 125 to 145 jobs will be cut out of a current workforce of 852 at the Leeuwarden unit.

While the company produces infant nutrition and ingredients at Beilen, it primarily produces condensed milk for export to the Middle East, Africa and Asia at Leeuwarden.

The company has asked employee participation bodies, specifically the Central Workers Council and the local works councils in Beilen and Leeuwarden for advice.

FrieslandCampina intends to carry out the job cuts in a phased manner with separate requests for advice being made for each initiative that will focus on decisions regarding the positions that are to become redundant and the talks with affected employees.

The employees with permanent employment contracts to be affected by the move will be covered by the company’s social plan that will help affected employees find new job opportunities.