Tyson Foods, the US meat titan, has confirmed it is looking to ending production at a plant in the UK.
Trade-union officials had issued a statement saying Tyson’s meat and poultry facility in Wrexham, north Wales, will close at the end of this month.
Tyson took over the asset 12 months ago from BRF as part of a deal to acquire the Brazilian group’s European assets.
In a statement this afternoon, Tyson said it was holding a consultation process with staff at the factory over a plan to end operations on 30 September.
“Tyson Foods is exploring options including discontinuing the operations or selling the Wrexham facility. Putting this proposal forward was a very difficult decision. It was based on a combination of factors including our ability to generate profitable growth and our need to adapt to shifting customer needs,” the company said.
Earlier, trade union Unite said it had been in talks with Tyson for the last month. The union said it was hoped a buyer for the site could be found but added Tyson had confirmed it is proceeding with the closure.
Jo Goodchild, regional officer for Unite in Wales, said: “This is devastating news for a loyal and dedicated workforce. The economy of north-east Wales has seen a succession of large-scale redundancies in recent months and today’s news is more bad news for the local area.”
