BUSINESS secretary Richard Lochhead has called a factory closure in his constituency “a blow to the local workforce”.
Forres New World Foods, part of Valeo Foods UK, confirmed it is set to close its doors in Moray and move production south of the Border.
The company is considering a closing date of 30 April for its Moray site.
Work loads are set to be moved to York and Wigan, with logistical issues and the area’s “remote location” being cited as the reasons behind the closure.
Reacting to the imminent closure, Lochhead told The National: “This is hugely disappointing news and will come as a blow to the loyal workforce, which is being let down by the decision to move operations elsewhere.
“Moray has been a world renowned food and drink manufacturing centre of excellence for many years, and will lead many to question the credibility of their case for closing the Forres factory.”
A spokesperson for Valeo Foods UK said in a statement: “Forres presents significant logistical challenges due to its remote location. These challenges have made it increasingly difficult to maintain cost efficiencies, which are crucial in today’s competitive market.
“The York site has the immediate capacity to handle current production volumes, and it is well-positioned to support both our short- and medium-term growth objectives.
“We assessed the capacity and demand for different products; the projected investment required across all sites, along with identifying operational improvement opportunities.
“As a result, the proposal was to cease operations at our meat snacks production facility in Forres, and transfer production to sister Valeo sites within the Meat Snacks Division “We conducted a collective consultation with all employees at the Forres site and no alternative solutions were found to mitigate this proposal.”
CEO of Valeo Foods UK, Kevin Moore, added: “This closure is in no way a reflection on the dedicated efforts of the Forres team who have shown great commitment to improve the performance of the site in recent years”.
The meat snacks produced by Valeo Foods UK include Wild West beef jerky and strips.
