Supermarket Chain To Create 160 Jobs In Mitchelstown

Supermarket chain Aldi have made plans for a new distribution and office centre in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, 160 jobs will be created.

The centre will supply Aldi supermarkets in Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford amongst others.

A spokesperson for Aldi said the centre will support Irish business particularly in the Munster region.

There are currently 52 Aldi stores in Ireland although it is planning to build five more in Cork alone next year.

The company originally bought the Mitchelstown site from Dairygold and will also demolish a disused grain silo to pave the way for the project.

“We are very pleased to be expanding our operations and planning our new distribution centre in Mitchelstown,” said a company spokesman.

“It is a strong location with a highly skilled workforce and will be important for the development of our business.”

The company is said to have also examined sites in Nenagh and Limerick.

But it is understood Mitchelstown’s excellent roads infrastructure and the availability of a skilled workforce played a crucial role in the final decision.

Local Fine Gael Cllr Liam O’Doherty welcomed the news as a tremendous boost for a town which has lost several hundred jobs in recent years.

Dairygold closed its Galtee plant in the town last year with the loss of between 350 and 400 jobs.

“Aldi saw all the positives of locating here,” he said.

“They located here on their own initiative. We still need more commitment from the Government to replace the jobs we’ve lost.”

Aldi began operations in Ireland in 1999. Headquartered at Naas in Co Kildare where it has its national distribution centre, it has a network of 52 stores across the country including stores in Mitchelstown, Mayfield, Grange and Ballincollig.

(GK/JM)