Future hope for Buccleuch Foods' Castle Douglas site?
Following a merger deal with former rival Campbell Brothers, 35 staff at Buccleuch are set to lose their jobs when the factory doors close on February 19, with specialist meat and game production then relocating to Campbell Brothers’ site in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian.
Bucculeuch said increased growth and demand for its products meant that more space was needed, with the move bringing space and a wider product ranging, along with greater competitive economies of scale and improved service to UK-wide customers.
Could the site reopen?
But Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown lambasted the firm, which he said had “walked away from Castle Douglas”, adding that he was disappointed given the company’s historical pride in its local connections.
After the merger announcement, Brown vowed to seek clarification on the Castle Douglas' site future from company management, and a spokesman for the MP told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Russell did speak to[Buccleuch Group chairman] John Glen and the indications on the ground seem to be that several parties are potentially interested in acquiring the site.”
Of the prospective new owners, he said at least one party was rumoured to be interested in restarting production at Castle Douglas and potentially re-employing staff, although this depended on how much plant Buccleuch transferred to Campbell Brothers’ Midlothian site.
Lack of consultation denied
Some staff members affected by the clousure are angry about an alleged lack of consultation from senior staff on saving the business, while they suspect that the merger deal was arranged a considerable time ago, although workers were still employed on permanent contracts within the last six months.
Responding to these points a Buccleuch spokesman said: “We deeply regret the closure of Castle Douglas, but it was the only option. However, the suggestion that this was decided ages ago, with people employed under false pretexts, is unfounded; there was no agreement with Campbell Brothers until around Christmas time.”
Strived to make site pay
He added: “Obviously people are upset, and the closure is regrettable. But Buccleuch strived for several years to make Castle Douglas pay, but with no success. The firm didn’t ‘walk away’ from the town; it needed to relocate to a site with better distribution links and logistical capacity.”
But Brown’s spokesman said that beyond the normal anger amongst staff when a company announces plans to leave town, “We don’t feel this was handled in the best way, with workers brought to a room in a local hotel on January 6 and told the bad news for the first time, after no previous indications anything was wrong.
“There’s a question of whether the statutory consultation period is meaningful or not, given that the workforce tell us that the place is definitely closing.”
