Nether Stowey is shocked by the news that 70 people will lose their jobs at Cricketer Farm this Christmas.

Speaking to the Mercury, County Councillor John Edney of Cannington said the news had come out of the blue.

He said: “The bulk of the workforce is from in and around Nether Stowey and has been a source of employment for many years. Families have been working there for more than one generation.”

Cllr Edney said the various agencies will be meeting to work out what can be done to help the workers left without a job as well as local councillors and employment agencies. His main concern was there were few employers in the immediate area with Hinkley Point and Bridgwater being to two main places of work.

“It is a big blow for Nether Stowey,” he said.

In a statement the company said: “Cricketer Farm is consulting its workforce about stopping making and packing cheese as a result of challenging times in the dairy industry. All contracts and commitments will be fulfilled and it is being proposed that all operations will cease in early 2016.”

The managing director Greg Parsons said the company was “committed to managing the closure diligently and sensitively.”

He said: “Market volatility has forced the UK dairy market into a period of uncertainty and consolidation, which is reshaping the industry to be dominated by international dairy powerhouses, focussed on global strategies. This makes it impossible for a business like Cricketer Farm to look ahead with confidence and having suffered significant financial losses over the last financial year, it is not viable to continue with such uncertainty. The Cricketer Farm directors are forced into this conclusion as they see no realistic prospect of cheese prices being at sufficient level to provide satisfactory returns to both processor and farmers.”

The firm has been making cheese since the 1940s and has grown in line with the increase in dairy products supplied to supermarkets in recent decades. After losing “a major customer” they have decided to act ahead of the loss of the contract in the New Year. They have supplied their Cheeky Cow brand to Asda and Tesco since 2013.

The chairman of Nether Stowey Parish Council John Roberts said the community was very shocked as it would affect many families and businesses.

Cricketer Farm said in a statement: “We will focus on providing as much support and advice as possible to employees and supplying farmers. Many of the local workforce have been at Cricketer Farm for decades and have been extremely loyal and hard working. Directors will help staff to identify new opportunities throughout the phased exit from the cheese industry. Cricketer Farm will also standby commitments in the contracts with supplying milk producers and hope to identify alternative supply opportunities wherever possible.”

Dairy farm expert Professor Toby Mottram of Exeter said one of the issues involved in the cheese industry is that hard cheese such as cheddar can be made anywhere and imported from across the globe. Easy to store and with a long life it has led to a glut of hard cheese resulting in lower prices. On their website Cricketer Farm say that their Cheeky Cow brand is a “healthy, tasty cheese with all the texture, flavour and functionality of full fat cheddar but with only half the fat, plus less salt.”