He was speaking at a visit to the workforce at Vion’s Hall’s of Broxburn plant, which is under threat of closure.
During a two-hour visit to the West Lothian plant on Friday (July 6), Salmond met representatives from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) and the Vion management.
The Scottish government has set up a taskforce to explore all options for the future of the business.
Apprenticeships secured
One early commitment it has secured from Vion is the assurance that all 14 people on modern apprenticeships or Scottish Vocational Qualification training at the Hall’s site will complete their training with Vion, ideally at the Broxburn site.
Salmond said: “This is one small step but it is a positive step and there is still much work to do. All of those serving on the taskforce will be working tirelessly over the coming weeks and months to help deliver a positive economic future for the workforce and community of Broxburn.”
Stewart Forrest, USDAW’s deputy Scottish divisional officer said: “This is going to be a long road but we’re very encouraged by the support we have received so far and, if that continues, I’m confident we can reach a solution to keep the plant operating.”
Investment needed
Others in the industry were less optimistic for the site’s future.
Julian Wild, food group director at legal firm Rollits, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Once a major company like Vion has made a decision to close a site, the prospects of saving it are extremely remote. It’s a big, reasonably mature site that’s going to require ongoing investment and it’s clearly not viable.”
On the prospect of finding a potential buyer for the facility, Wild said: “I struggle to see any of the major pork players being interested. They have more modern sites of their own.”
Forrest wanted more answers from Vion’s management. He said: “The company was unable to give detailed answers to any of the many questions we put to them.”
The taskforce is meeting with the management on Wednesday this week (July 11) by which time the management has said it will be in a position to start providing answers.
Forrest praised the professionalism of the staff at the site: “Despite the potentially devastating news they received yesterday, our reps, members and indeed the entire workforce at Hall’s have responded with real professionalism and dignity. I cannot praise them highly enough.”
To read more about the "catastrophic" job losses at Vion , click here.