The Yorkshire-based pork supplier confirmed earlier today (October 18) that it had taken the decision to terminate slaughter and butchery operations at the plant, following extensive consultations with trades union Unite and staff.
It stated it intended to retain 38 jobs at the site, 20 more than originally proposed when it began discussions in July. The roles would be kept at the business’ curing and foodservice sales operations, which would continue at the Wiveliscombe site, it said.
“This has been a very difficult decision and has been taken only after extensive consultation with Unite and site employees, during which we exhausted all other options,” said Seamus Carr, Karro Foods ceo, in a statement.
‘Safeguard other jobs’
“Unfortunately, our Wiveliscombe slaughter and butchery operation did not have the necessary scale to operate profitably, and so proceeding with these changes was critical to ensure our continued viability and growth, and safeguard other jobs across our business.”
The company had offered all staff that have been laid off the opportunity to transfer to one of its other sites, said Carr.
Karro Foods was providing affected employees with continuing training and support to assist them in finding replacement work, he added. “We have worked hard to support impacted employees through this process and try to mitigate the impact on them wherever possible.”
Overcapacity in the meat industry
When Carr first announced proposals to axe jobs, he said there was overcapacity in the meat industry and Karro Foods needed to ensure its plants were operating at close to full stretch.
At the end of July, Karro Foods confirmed it had secured £60M-worth of funding through finance firm GE Capital.
“From a very strong asset base and a stable financial platform, the new GE facility will give us the firepower to invest further in the business, react more rapidly to opportunities and grow our market share,” said Carr at the time.
Karro Foods provides fresh, cured and cooked meat to retail, foodservice and manufacturing customers, including Tesco, Sainsbury and Aldi.