Coca-Cola to close concentrates plant

Coca-Cola said yesterday it would shut down one of its three ingredients plants in Ireland and cut 166 people from its workforce.

The company will shift the production of concentrates from the 30-year-old plant in Drogheda, north of Dublin, to two other Irish plants, according to local media reports. The plant supplies the concentrate to the company's bottlers across Europe. The company was cited as saying the consolidation would boost efficiency and save costs. The company said boosting production at those two bases would be "sufficient to meet the current and future demand for concentrate and beverage base supply from Ireland", according to the reports. The Drogheda plant is scheduled to close in September 2008. Coca-Cola will keep its shared services center in Drogheda, which employs more than 110 people and offers support to company operations worldwide, the reports stated.