UK—Pilgrim’s Food Masters, a subsidiary of US multinational food processing company, Pilgrim’s Pride, has revealed plans to shut down another UK factory, resulting in the loss of 260 jobs.
The closure marks the second facility shutdown in west London by the US-owned animal protein business within the span of 18 months.
The ready-meals maker said indicated the production at the Dean Way site would be consolidated into two others – one on Windmill Lane in Southall and another in Attleborough in eastern England.
The previous shutdown impacted its facility located in Southall, west London, which untill its closure had been manufacturing chilled and frozen ready meals for supermarkets.
GMB, a UK based general trade union, claims that Pilgrim’s Food Masters has initiated a statutory 45-day consultation period with the 260 employees at the Dean Way facility.
Gavin Davies, GMB senior organizer, expressed concerns about the impact of the closure on workers and the local community, emphasizing the union’s commitment to advocating for employees’ rights.
“GMB will fight tooth and nail for workers to be paid every penny they are due.” Davies said in a statement on 18th March.
The closure announcement comes after Pilgrim’s Food Masters faced criticism last March for threatening 1,000 employees at another London site with job losses if they did not accept unfavorable changes to their employment terms – the manufacturer withdrew the threat following backlash from GMB.
Pilgrim’s Food Masters has cited industry challenges and an inflationary environment as contributing factors to these closures.
In a statement, Pilgrim’s said: “Over the past few years, we have been working hard to transform our meals business, which has seen us secure long-term customer contracts, increase our product offering and improve our operational efficiencies.
“Despite our best efforts, we are continuing to face industry challenges and lower-than-expected market volumes. In light of these market conditions – and in order to ensure business continuity and protect jobs – we have had no choice but to review the shape of our business.”
However, the company has committed to supporting affected employees throughout the transition process and explore redeployment opportunities where feasible.
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