Jobs are at risk in a multi-million pound Welsh food business. A source close to Abergavenny Fine Foods told WalesOnline the number of lay-offs could be "high in the double figures".
A spokeswoman for the company, which is well-known for its goat's cheese and vegetarian products, said: "Today (February 3) Abergavenny Fine Foods has announced the proposal to change working patterns within its operation. The business is proposing to move its manufacturing operation from the current five days to a four-day week. We will now enter into a period of consultation with employee representatives. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further until the consultation process has been concluded."
A source said redundancies could affect sites in Abergavenny, Blaenavon and Cardiff. The company declined to comment on this but WalesOnline has seen a document issued to staff, in which the business answers some anticipated questions.
One question reads: "If I am made redundant what can I do if I don't agree with the decision?" The response says: "Any employee who may be affected by redundancy will have a right of appeal against the decision. This will be explained in more detail when a role is confirmed as redundant."
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The document also mentions a possible transfer to 12-hour days. It says voluntary redundancy requests will be considered on a "case-by-case basis".
On its website Abergavenny Fine Foods describes itself as "the market leader" in goat's cheese. The company, which is also well-known for free-from and plant-based products, was born in 1981 when the Craske family started making cheese from their six goats' milk. It has grown to become a supplier of Tesco, Lidl, Domino's, M&S, Waitrose, Costco, Co-op, Pizza Hut, Morrisons and other giants.
In 2016 WalesOnline reported how Abergavenny Fine Foods had completed a "remarkable recovery" following a fire which destroyed its old production facility. The company, which had 105 employees at the time, built a new £10m manufacturing plant in Blaenavon which the then-Prince of Wales, Charles, opened just a year after the fire.
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