Linwoods to Lay off 90 Workers in Armagh, the UK

The Armagh-based food business Linwoods is planning to lay off up to 90 in its bakery and milk division.

The company, which operates across two sites in County Armagh, said part of the business had been hit by changing consumer taste. Demand for white bread in particular has been “falling dramatically”, according to BBC.

By contrast its health food division is thriving and is unaffected by the redundancies.

The company has 250 full-time and 45 casual employees in Northern Ireland.

John Woods, joint managing director of Linwoods, said: “This is obviously a very difficult decision for our company and our priority is our people. We will do all that we can to make this process as smooth as we can for them and their families.

Linwoods was founded 60 years ago as a small grocery shop.

In 2002 the company diversified from a bakery and dairy business into health foods and now exports its products across the UK, Europe and Asia.