Vion, the Dutch-owned food group, has confirmed that it will cut around 820 jobs from its UK operations after the loss of Marks and Spencer’s deli business and as it looks to restructure its meat businesses.
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The company plans to axe around 470 jobs at its Haverhill site in Suffolk, 200 at Malton in North Yorkshire and 150 at its Cambuslang facility in Lanarkshire.
“There are two different elements to this,” a spokesperson for the company told just-food today (20 January). “The restructuring of our abattoir and cooked meats business and separately some potential job losses at Cambuslang after the withdrawal of a client’s business.”
The Cambuslang site has been working with M&S as part of the UK retailer’s supply base review, Vion said.
M&S has committed to keeping just under 50% of the business it currently has with Cambuslang at the site, with the withdrawal of certain products to be phased over the course of the year.
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, Vion said that it hoped to increase the focus of its Haverhill and Malton production sites. The company intends to close its abattoir, butchery, and some elements of its retail operations at Haverhill, transferring these to Malton. It will also move all cooked meats operations currently based at Malton site to Haverhill.
“Through the restructuring we are focusing on what we hope will become centres of excellence,” the spokesperson said. “We are moving the structure of the business into a better shape to drive growth.”
The company said that it has commenced its mandatory 90-day employee consultation period and confirmed that it would look to minimise job losses where possible.
Vion declined to comment on whether the restructuring of its abattoir and cooked meats business would result in a drop in production.
“Production is determined by demand. Ultimately we want to grow the business… but that will not always be a straight line,” the spokesperson said.
