Young’s Seafood plans to close subsidiary The Cromer Crab Company, putting 230 jobs at risk.
The UK seafood processor said it has entered into consultation with staff at the shellfish processing site in Cromer to “explore proposals and possible options” for the facility. A meeting to discuss the situation was due to take place today (28 September) at 3pm UK time.
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Young’s Seafood highlighted the challenges The Cromer Crab Company is facing, amid the current economic climate.
“This new economic reality means the Cromer site has been struggling with inflation, industry over capacity, new capacity coming into shellfish processing, aggressive competition, pressure on margins from promotions and customers and consumers who are looking for ever better value,” said Young’s Seafood COO Pete Ward.
The Unite union criticised the move, which it said would have “an immense effect on the local economy”.
“We have a meeting with the company later today and we will urge management to rethink the move as we believe the company has an obligation to this town. The Cromer Crab Company should remain in Cromer,” a spokesperson for the union said.
He added that the union believes Young’s intention is to move production to Grimsby or Scotland, where the majority of the company’s staff are based.
“The success and growth of this company has been built around a product that is part of the heritage of Cromer. A committed and loyal workforce is now just being abandoned.”
In total, Young’s Seafood Limited employs around 3,200 people across 13 sites in the UK.
