Müller Milk and Ingredients has confirmed that it is to wind down operations at its Aberdeen depot with the potential loss of 45 jobs.

The decision follows a 30-day review of the company’s depot operations in Aberdeen against what it described as a 'backdrop of declining consumption of fresh milk and significant changes in retailing'.

The review concluded that with customers increasingly seeking deliveries of fresh milk products to large, centrally located retail distribution centres rather than directly to stores, the Aberdeen depot was no longer viable.

The change will result in the creation of 22 new jobs in central Scotland and where possible, affected employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate.

MMI chief executive Ian Smith said: “We fully understand the impact of this decision on our colleagues in Aberdeen and we will do everything we can to support those who don’t want to relocate, or for whom there are no roles. Sadly, it is a reality that the distribution model for fresh milk has changed and if we’re going to operate a sustainable fresh milk business in the short and long term, benefitting the fresh milk sector as a whole, we must adapt.”

Müller closed its actual milk processing facilities in Aberdeen a few years ago, and much of the milk produced in the region is now transported to Bellshill for processing – and then the packaged milk returning north.

NFU Scotland sought reassurances at the start of the latest MMI consultation process that the closure of the depot would have no impact on the current haulage arrangements for Müller suppliers in the north east.