Dairy Crest has axed a quarter of its field sales team, as it retreats from supplying milk to the fiercely competitive middle-ground market.

The company today said 10 of its 40-strong nationwide field sales team would be made redundant.

“We are reducing our exposure to the middle ground and unfortunately those jobs are going as a result of that,” a spokesman for Dairy Crest told The Grocer.

As Dairy Crest was selling less milk to the middle ground, it needed fewer people, he added.

The news comes at a tough time for Dairy Crest. In April, the dairy giant was informed by Tesco that its contract to supply 50 million litres of milk would cease from July. Rival Arla gained the supply.

In the same week, Dairy Crest announced it was looking to close its Aintree and Hunstanton dairies, putting 470 jobs at risk, although it denied the closures were linked to Tesco’s decision to move its supply.