Tulip plans 118 job cuts in King’s Lynn

The planned job cuts were part of Tulip’s strategy to mitigate falling production volumes, it revealed yesterday (July 20). The processor began a 45-day consultation period with workers and their representatives.

Tulip ceo Steve Francis said: “Our King’s Lynn facility has suffered from a significant fall in production volumes and continues to make a loss on a weekly basis.

‘Difficult and unavoidable decisions’

“We are looking to take steps which will keep the site operational for current and future generations in order to preserve the skills and crafts of producing good quality cooked meats, which means difficult and unavoidable decisions will need to be made.”

Tulip wanted to change the facility’s working week from seven days to five days, it said. The site, which currently employs 570 people, could cut its staff numbers to 452.

The proposed job cuts formed part of Tulip’s strategy to increase productivity at its 16 UK sites, Francis said. The business review came after the meat processor last month reported a £21.8M loss for the full-year to September 30 2016.

‘Optimisation and competitiveness’

Francis said: “The business is now entering into the next phase of its strategy, which is focused on the optimisation and competitiveness of our network of sites across the UK, ensuring we are able to achieve sustained growth while remaining strategically aligned with our core customers.

“A 45-day consultation period has begun during which the business will engage closely with the employee representatives and those affected in order to minimise impact on people’s lives.”

Meanwhile, in May, Tulip’s owner Danish Crown told our sister title Food Manufacture that it planned to retain all of Tulip’s 16 UK sites. Continued access to non-UK EU workers was vital for the processor, it warned.

Danish Crown chief executive Jais Valeur said: “We need access to qualified labour, be they British or from anywhere else – I don’t really care. I just want to make sure we keep 7,000 jobs in the UK – I just think it’s pretty damn important for the country.”