Glanbia workers who faced an uncertain future when their factory at Edenderry, Co Offaly, was badly damaged by fire have decided to accept a management redeployment plan.
From this morning 60 of the 280 staff who worked in Edenderry will be deployed to the Glanbia Meats facility at Parkmore in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, where production will be increased to meet the demand by the closure of the Offaly plant.
A further 60 administration and sales staff will continue to be employed at the Edenderry offices not affected by the fire.
All other employees are being offered part-time work, commencing this weekend at the Glanbia Meats site at Carrick in Roscrea.
Siptu, representing the majority of the workers, were seeking a commitment from the company that it would rebuild the factory and led the negotiations with management.
It failed to get that commitment but Siptu's Sean Nolan said the workers, who had voted by more than 90 per cent to accept the plan, hoped that the company would rebuild the 17-year-old plant.
Glanbia's chief executive, Jim Hanley, said the company's priority was to secure the business for the long term.
"It is still too early to speak about the future of the Edenderry facility but it is our intention to maintain our overall position in the Irish market."
Mr Hanley said he accepted that workers' lives would be disrupted because of the hour-long bus ride involved in the relocation.
"We will be trying to compensate them in some shape or form and attendance will be rewarded, there is no doubt about that," he said.
"We have met our immediate objectives, which were to return employees to work as soon as possible, to honour commitments to our farmer suppliers and customers - and our focus continues to be on maintaining our business in the long term."
The company has advised pig farmers that all pig supplies will be handled at its Roscrea facilities, Mr Hanley said.
He thanked farmers for their co-operation in scheduling pigs to facilitate the new plan.
The plan, according to Mr Hanley, will prevent a build-up in pig supplies, which had been feared by producers who lose money if their animals become over-fat.
The chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association's pigs and pig meat committee, Michael Maguire, said Glanbia had told him that it intended to slaughter an extra 400 pigs on weekdays and 7,200 at the weekend in Roscrea.
Unease that the Edenderry plant may never reopen persists in the town and at an emergency meeting of the town council on Monday it too sought reassurances that the company will rebuild.
However, NBC markets analyst Paul Meade said he believed that as pork is a non-core business for Glanbia, the group was unlikely to rebuild the Edenderry factory and opt instead to invest in expanding its remaining facility in Roscrea.