Tony Lewis, regional officer with Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAW), told FoodManufacture.co.uk, the news was “very sad but not unexpected.”
He added: “From Day One, once 2 Sisters acquired RF Brookes, we knew that this site would be closed eventually.”
Devastating
Lewis said the closure would be devastating for the local area. “This will hit the local community hard – there just aren’t the jobs around to replace these.”
Lewis said the union had heard no news about whether any potential buyers might want to acquire the South Wigston site.
John Boyce, Oadby and Wigston Borough council leader, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: "There's no doubt this is a devastating blow. A lot of people work there, and it is bound to have a knock-on effect on the local economy in terms of the supply chain and retailers."
Meanwhile, Veepul Patel, RF Brookes divisional director, said: “Today’s decision [October 3] is not taken lightly but reflects that we can only operate viable sites. Our immediate priority now is to support our colleagues at Leicester through consultation.”
Consultation period
2 Sisters intends to work with JobCentrePlus and other local organisations during the consultation period, in line with a successful Job Support Day held at Leicester over the summer, he added.
The company said it had “explored all viable options” before deciding to close the factory.
Following a 90-day consultation period with 229 workers, the factory is due to close in the first quarter of next year. Food production will be transferred to the firm’s other factories.
2 Sisters acquired the three RF Brookes Avana facilities from Premier Foods in December 2011.
The company said in a statement: “We have seen positive progress in attracting new business into the Rogerstone Park and Avana sites, to return those sites to growth. Regrettably, the Leicester site, which already saw the phased exit of pie products in previous ownership – which was a significant part of the site’s overall business – has been operating well below capacity and the site is not sustainable.”
RF Brookes, which employed 720 workers before the layoffs, lost a major contract to supply pies to Marks & Spencer in June 2011, before the takeover.