Coronavirus pressures put 200 jobs at risk at TSC Foods

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Soup manufacturer TSC Foods has planned 200 redundancies

Scunthorpe-based TSC Foods is to axe up to 200 jobs as a result of pressures stemming from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Consultations into the redundancies follow a 75% year-on-year reduction in production at the soup making business, thanks to operational restrictions caused by the global pandemic.

TSC managing director Ray Pigg pointed towards the long-term challenges posed by the well-documented closure of the foodservice industry on the company. This, along with the closure of the hospitality sector, has led to food manufacturers to lose a significant chunk of their business.

Impacted foresight

“The new operational restrictions placed on our customers mean they require much less from us as they start to emerge from this scenario, which in turn, impacts our forecast significantly,” said Pigg.

“With this in mind, we have conducted a considered and in-depth review of our market position and it is clear that, to protect the future of the business, we must operate from a lower cost base.”

The redundancies are expected to impact all areas of the business. TSC Foods employs around 450 people at its facilities on the Arkwright Way in Scunthorpe.

‘Minimising the impact’

“I understand that this is disappointing and upsetting for many of the wonderful people inside our business,” Pigg added. “We will be communicating with our employees immediately on next steps and we’re committed to complete transparency to minimise the impact, wherever possible, on those affected.”

Meanwhile, prepared meals food manufacturer Bakkavor has confirmed that just over 500 jobs could be under threat at its salad factory in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

Bakkavor said it had entered into several consultations with employees at the site where it has two salads factories, two meals factories and a distribution centre.