Food giant Nestlé has announced plans to close its infant formula manufacturing plant as well as research and development (R&D) operations in Ireland with the loss of 542 jobs.
In a statement, the company announced that it would be ceasing operations at Wyeth Nutrition infant formula factory in Askeaton, Limerick by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The co-located R&D centre will close by early 2025.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the company said it will begin consulting with all employees and their unions over their redundancy packages.
“Regrettably, today’s announcement means approximately 542 colleagues will be placed at risk of redundancy,’ the company said.
Nestlé purchased Wyeth Nutritionals in 2012 as part of its acquisition of Pfizer Nutrition.
The factory manufactures infant formula products exclusively for export to markets in greater China and Asia. The factory currently employs 491 people with 51 people employed at the R&D facility.
The company said that “external trends” have impacted demand for infant nutrition products across China and surrounding territories.
“The number of new-born babies in China has declined sharply from some 18 million per year in 2016 to fewer than 9 million projected in 2023.
"The market, which had previously been reliant on imported infant formula products, is also seeing rapid growth in locally-produced products,” the company said.
“To adapt to those changes, we are proposing to transfer the production from Askeaton to two existing factories – Suzhou, Mainland China and Konolfingen, Switzerland.” Konolfingen is already home to Nestlé Nutrition’s global R&D centre for infant and maternal products.
“It is proposed that R&D work at Askeaton would be absorbed into Konolfingen, where 365 colleagues work on research and product development across several disciplines, and a satellite R&D centre in Shanghai would be strengthened,” the company said.
It added that it has been seeking a buyer for the facility but has been unsuccessful.
