Young’s Seafood Ltd. on Tuesday announced that production at the former Cumbrian Seafoods sites in Seaham and Whitehaven will be transferred to the company’s existing facilities, which will “likely” result in the closure of the two sites.
Among the reasons Young’s cited, as part of the consultation process, were cost, financial sustainability, quality and technical standards, and manufacturing capabilities of the two sites, which employ nearly 400 workers (281 at Seaham and 99 jobs at Whitehaven).
In December, the Young’s parent company, Lion Capital, acquired Cumbrian Seafoods and Border Laird Ltd. immediately after they went into administration. Cumbrian Seafoods is now known as Ocean Pure.
“It is clear from the fact that Cumbrian Seafoods went into administration that restructuring is needed,” said Young’s COO Pete Ward on Tuesday. “To this end, in early January 2012, the formal consultation processes began with staff at the sites, to explore proposals and possible options for the facilities.
“The consultations at the Seaham and Whitehaven sites have involved numerous meetings with the employee representative groups and local stakeholders, and alternative options were considered in detail,” Ward continued. “External experts, PricewaterhouseCoopers, were also brought in to review the financial viability and sustainability of the various options for the future of the sites.”
The consultation at the former Cumbrian Seafoods sites at Border Laird in Amble continues, and Young’s is exploring its options, including potentially selling of the site; this consultation process does not affect the developments regarding Seaham or Whitehaven.
“We’d like to stress that this is not a decision that has been taken lightly and does not, in any way, reflect on the committed and experienced teams at these sites,” said Ward. “They have continued to work hard during this period and are a credit to the whole workforce. Our priority is to continue to fulfil’ customer contracts, alongside ensuring that the employees affected by this announcement get the support they need by working closely with them, local agencies and other key stakeholders.”
