Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s largest dairy exporter, said it will be laying off hundreds of its 1,500 head office and support function staff in a major reshape of the business following the global decline in dairy prices. Chief executive Theo Spierings has fronted up to media today about the restructure following widespread criticism over the dairy cooperative’s management performance at a …

 Danone Nutricia, the French-owned infant formula maker, has reported a full-year loss it attributes to ongoing fallout from the Fonterra Cooperative Group’s botulism scare in 2013. The New Zealand subsidiary of the French food giant posted a loss of $1.19 million for calendar 2014, compared to a profit of $1.99 million a year earlier. Danone Nutricia ended its supply contract with …

The uncertain future of the dairy industry, seen as a bellwether for New Zealand’s primary sector and wider economy, is concerning many sector leaders, according to KPMG’s sixth Agribusiness Agenda survey. KPMG global head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot said conversations about dairy have changed dramatically from a year ago when milk prices were at an all-time high and people thought price-setting on …